


Shadow Preachers

by bilgegungoren00



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Humor, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Love, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Team as Family, begins when garrett leaves grant in the woods, but it's gonna be explained, completely AU with mild references to the show, eventual agents of SHIELD team, eventual fitzsimmons, eventual philinda, it might seem confusing at first, skye and grant are teenagers, skye has her powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-08-15 04:05:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8041888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bilgegungoren00/pseuds/bilgegungoren00
Summary: Young Grant Ward thought meeting John Garrett was a miracle, and the agent offering him a job at S.H.I.E.L.D. was a one in a lifetime chance he just couldn't refuse. What he didn't expect was for Garrett to leave him in the woods to survive alone, and especially to find out the said agent he saw as a savior was the exact opposite of that. A HYDRA agent, no less. The real surprise, though was to learn all that from the young girl she met in the woods, Skye. With the help of Skye, the distinction between right and wrong becomes clearer for Grant in the days they spend together, and he gets what he was always looking for: a family, and much more than that. However, as he soon realizes, he isn't the only one with demons from the past, and as the secrets begin to threaten the tight bond between two friends, and the shadows of S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA start to loom over them, will they be able to stand together and survive, or are some wounds just too deep to be healed? (Skyeward AU)





	1. Master of Puppets

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is my first multichapter fanfiction. To be honest, the idea had been in my mind for a long time, I just didn't know how to proceed, and just a couple of days ago I thought beginning the story was the best way to do that. This is a Skyeward AU that takes place before the events of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (years, years before). The story won't have anything to do with the show's plot; however, some events that takes place will be inspired by them. A couple of things you need to know are:
> 
> -Skye and Grant are teenagers (Skye is 16, Grant is 17)  
> -Skye has her powers she got in Season 2  
> -Skye is aware of S.H.I.E.L.D. and works for them, but you'll need to read the story to learn the details as it'd be a spoiler.  
> -Coulson's team will join the story eventually, though it might take some time. The first part will be focused on Grant and Skye and building their relationship.  
> -The events of Phase 1 MCU happens during the story, including the Avengers, though it might not be referenced. I just wanted you to get an idea about where the story takes place in the timeline.  
> -Some of the Avengers will be a part of the story, though they might appear only once or twice, when I feel it'd add something to the story and not just for the fun of it.
> 
> Those are what I can think of off the top of my head, but I might add something else if I feel the need to. Other than that, if you have questions, feel free to ask and I will try to answer as in an as nonspoilery way as possible :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Garrett had brought another teenager to the forest again, even though Skye had hoped he’d have given up by now, considering his last three attempts didn’t work. However, apparently, whatever he needed from the teenagers, he needed it badly. Badly enough to try it again time and time again. Though Skye still had no idea what he could gain from leaving them in the woods alone for months.

Or supposedly months since none of the three previous one stayed longer than one.

Still, Skye watched Garrett and the young boy silently from her hiding spot, trying not to make a sound. She was perched up high on a tree, cloaked by the thick blanket of leaves, so much so that she could barely see the duo, yet she still wasn’t about to take any risks.

Not when Garrett was an agent of HYDRA. Skye couldn’t let him find out about her. Nevertheless, she slid down carefully to be able to overhear their conversation.

“…Out here, son, if you want something, you have to earn it. For here on out, you earn everything. You want a warm place to sleep, you make it. You want something to eat, you kill it.” The boy stared at Garrett like he’d grown another head. Skye winced. The boy looked young, definitely a lot younger than the last one Garrett brought. Levin had been nineteen, and even he couldn’t handle being alone. Skye didn’t know if this one could.

“Wait, wait. Y-you can't be serious. All ... all I have in here are some clothes. Right? This isn't fair. If you'd have told me, I-I'd have brought tools or food...” the boy stuttered. Garrett smiled, almost viciously, and it took everything in Skye not to jump on him and punch-erase his smile off his face. She would’ve liked that, too. Probably a lot more than she was supposed to.

“Stop blaming me for your own failure! Makes me not like you. You want it easy? Go back to juvie. They'll give you three squares and a cot.” He looked down at the boy. “Confirm what your family believes, what everybody believes ... that Grant Ward is weak and worthless.” The boy—apparently Grant Ward—gulped, looking around with fearful eyes. He wasn’t bad looking at all, Skye thought, in fact he was slightly muscular and the lines of his face could even be counted as handsome. He had black messy hair and as far as she could see, dark colored eyes, but she couldn’t be sure because of the leaves of the tree. She shifted her position to get a clearer point of view, looking at the boy back again.

The handsomeness of his face wasn’t what she noticed the second time around, though. The lost and determined look in his eyes struck her as he turned back to Garrett.

“I'll tell you what ... I'll leave Buddy here. You take care of him, maybe he'll take care of you. I'll be back in a couple of months. Either you'll be here or you won't. It's up to you.” Garrett continued. That made Grant shiver slightly, but he didn’t show it to the HYDRA agent.

“Yes, sir,” he only whispered, so quietly that Skye barely heard. With that, Garrett smiled again, a smile that screamed _evil_ , and patted the kid on the shoulder.

“But for what it's worth... ...I believe you can do it.” Grimacing, Skye shook her head. No matter what, right then and there, she promised herself to get Grant away from Garrett. Far, far away from him and his influence, even if she needed to spend every penny S.H.I.E.L.D. was paying her to get plane tickets to the other side of the world. He at least deserved that, even if he didn’t give Skye what she wanted regarding HYDRA.

She couldn’t let the boy be influenced by such an evil man, knowing what it felt like oh-so-well.

Holding the young boy’s shoulder in an almost too tight and controlling grip, Garrett smirked again before letting him go. His laugh made Skye cringe, although he was out of her sight. In a couple of second, she heard the car roar anyway, and with that Garrett left.

Grant looked lost when Skye turned her gaze back to him. He was looking after the car, even when she was pretty sure it was far gone. The dog, Buddy, was sitting right next to him, and his hand went to the dog’s head to pat him absentmindedly. Skye still waited a couple of minutes after the car was out of earshot to make her move, just to make sure Garrett was really gone, and not like stopped the car and hid behind a tree to watch Grant. One could never be too cautious, she thought. Looking around, she made sure there was no sign of Garrett or his car before she let herself slide down from the tree. Jumping down right behind Grant, she used her powers to cushion the fall. It used to be hard before, accessing them naturally just like that, but she’d gotten used to it in the last few years she spent in these woods.

She landed softly on the grass, but couldn’t balance herself for a moment, stepping back. A branch got crushed under her feet with a crunch, making her cringe. And, of course, made Grant aware of the young girl’s presence. He jumped in his place before he spun around to face Skye, eyes wide with fear.

_I wasn’t wrong_ , Skye couldn’t help thinking. The boy was handsome. His eyes were dark brown as she’d seen, just not as dark as it seemed from the top of the tree, and his hair was actually a really dark shade of brown instead of black. His clothes were too thin and loose for the woods, not so much for the day but for the night time, and would not protect him from cold. Skye was beginning to think that was Garrett’s purpose in giving him those.

Grant immediately stepped back the moment he saw Skye. Her gaze, though, dropped to Grant’s hands, realizing they were shaking as his fingers curled up in fists, ready to defend himself if anything happened. Pushing her hair away from her eyes, Skye forced a smile. “Hey.” She’d tried to make her voice as soft and inviting as she could manage, not wanting to scare the kid off. That was what had happened with the second boy Garrett had brought. He was so scared after Garrett left that when Skye came down next to him, he literally had screamed and started whatever he could find on the ground at Skye. That wasn’t what Grant did though. In fact, he turned his face into an emotionless mask—or at the very least tried—and stared at Skye.

“Who are you?” he asked. His voice betrayed him, though, as it wavered, but he still managed to keep his composure. Skye’s heart skipped a beat. None of the other three boys had managed to do that. They pretty much collapsed into sobs after Garrett left, and maybe even before that. Yet this boy seemed to be holding on, as far as Skye could tell, even though his hands were shaking, even though his lips were quivering, and even though it was obvious from his eyes that he wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Tentatively, Skye stepped forward, lifting her hands to show she didn’t mean any harm.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” she said quietly, making sure her face was as honest as possible. “I’m trying to help you…” She waited for him to say his name, not letting him know she’d already heard it. It was the first step in trusting someone, as Skye believed. Unfortunately, though, he stayed silent. Which, Skye had to admit, was smart, even though she’d rather the opposite.

“How do I know you’re not lying to me?” the boy in question said with a whisper, to hide the wavering. “I don’t trust you.” Skye couldn’t argue as she tried to find an answer to that. At the end she straightened up, extending her hand toward him, even though he was still a couple of feet away from her.

“I’m Skye,” she said, hoping that telling him her name would at least earn her a couple of points. Grant lifted his brows.

“Is… Is that your real name?” A smile almost pulled Skye’s lips. The boy was perceptive, she thought. Dropping her hands to her sides, she shrugged, choosing her words carefully.

“Well, the name the orphanage staff gave me was Mary Sue Potts, but I decided to change it since it sounded ridiculous.” Grant’s face whitened even more with those words, rather than the smile Skye was hoping the joke would bring. _Okay_ , she thought. _Maybe I was going about this in the wrong way_.

“You were in an orphanage?” he asked, his voice low but weirdly, not devoid of emotions. Clearing her throat, Skye decided to be honest with it as she stepped forward, slowly closing the gap between them.

“That’s what happens when the parents you’ve never met drops you at the door of it.” She took another step. Now the distance between the duo was no more than five feet. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Again, Skye waited for his name. He didn’t say anything for a couple of moments, long enough for the girl to almost give up, when he opened his mouth.

“Grant,” he whispered. Her heart stuttered as a smile pulled her lips. “My name is…Grant Ward.”

“That’s a beautiful name,” she said honestly, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you, Grant.” Eyeing the extended hand cautiously, Grant didn’t do anything for a couple of seconds before lifting his hand slowly to shake Skye’s. He cringed when she squeezed it slightly, but didn’t let go. He didn’t say anything else, though, when he yanked his hand back. Skye furrowed her brows. It was obvious to her that the boy was damaged—all the kids Garrett brought were—though she didn’t know how much. The boy looked around anxiously before turning back to her. He was shivering slightly, his hands twitching at his sides. He obviously wanted to wrap them around himself for protection, to put a barrier between him and Skye, a stranger to him for now, but he didn’t, either because of his pride or because he wanted to look strong. Instead, he curled his fingers into fists.

“What are you doing here?” he asked suspiciously, his eyes widening only a second later. “Did Garrett…” He didn’t finish his question, but he didn’t need to as Skye pursed her lips and shook her head.

“No, Garrett didn’t bring me. But yes, he’s the reason I’m here and we’re talking right now.” Skye tried to think about a way to explain…everything without revealing too much about S.H.I.E.L.D., about the mission Fury gave her and…and about herself. She came up empty, though, before Grant continued.

“Wh-what do you mean he’s the reason?” His face was even whiter than before, and his shoulders were stiff. Skye ran her fingers through her hair.

“Why did he bring you here?” she asked slowly, even though she had a vague idea about. Grant stayed silent, not saying anything. Skye was beginning to realize that was his way of defense. She sighed. “Grant, I already know about S.H.I.E.L.D. In fact, I’m here in the name of one of their agents.” Grant blinked bewilderedly, not being able to hide his surprise. “And I know why Garrett brought you here. He told you that he was going to enroll you to the Academy, right?”

“How did you know that?” Grant asked hoarsely, obviously afraid. Skye took a deep breath, looking deeply in Grant’s eyes.

“Because you aren’t the first boy Garrett brought here, nor the first he fed with lies.” Pressing her lips together, she sighed. “You, and all the others he brought here, are just puppets to him, to do his bidding, though I don’t know what that is. What I do know is that he’s up to no good.” Grant stared at Skye hesitantly at first, but then he lifted his chin with a stubborn expression on his face. An expression that was too familiar to Skye.

“You’re lying. He promised to recruit me to…to S.H.I.E.L.D. He promised that no one would ever mess with me again.” Skye’s heart squeezed in her chest with the boy’s desperate words. In his eyes, she could see he wanted, _needed_ , to believe that. Skye didn’t know what happened in his past, but she had a feeling no one really cared about him, or believed he could be anything. One might ask how she understood that, someone who never knew what it was like to be alone, but Skye knew exactly what it felt like. You tended to be desperate to be loved, to be believed in, when you never got that in your childhood. And that… That could make you do horrible things, just for the possibility of someone telling you that they believed in you, that they _loved_ you.

“That’s because he knew your weaknesses, and exactly how to exploit them to get you to do what he wants.” The young girl couldn’t keep the pain away from her voice, and silently cursed herself for it. The last thing Grant needed was someone to pity him. Not that Skye did, but she was afraid he’d mistake her pain and understanding with pity.

“And what’s that?” he asked. He was trying not to show his fear, but his wavering voice and a bit too wide pupils gave him away. It was almost impossible to see the brown of his eyes.

“That’s what I want to find out,” Skye said with a small smile. “If you want, we can discuss it here, or we can go to my cabin and do it while sitting on soft cushions, under a blanket, drinking some coffee and eating snacks.” She stopped for a second. “Or hot chocolate, if you want. With those little marshmallows.” She opened her hand. “You look like you could use that.”

For a moment, Skye thought he’d refuse. She thought he’d want to stay, just like Garrett ordered him to, and push her away. He was certainly hesitating as he looked at Skye’s hand, and then at her face, and then back at her hand. He didn’t do anything till it came to the point where she was sure he’d refuse, but then he suddenly lifted his hand and put it in hers, making Skye’s heart stutter hopefully. _Maybe this is the one_ , she thought.

His hand was warm in hers as Grant stared directly in her eyes with a determined look. Taking a shaky breath, he nodded, and the corners of Skye’s lips tipped up. “Yeah, let’s go.” She nodded before turning around, and the duo started walking, Skye in the front, Grant and the dog Buddy behind her, with a hope bubble in Skye’s chest for the first time in a long time.

_Maybe finally I can finish my mission and get what I want_.


	2. Exit Wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Two chapters in two days, I kind of feel proud of myself (even though it's a sad fact that i didn't have anything else to do lol). Anyway, this was a relatively hard chapter to write, because you'll get to see a little bit more insight to Skye's past. It's just a glimpse, but I think it was really important. Initially, my plan was making the flashbacks separate chapters, but I thought that'd cause too many disconnections in the story, so I integrated it in the chapter. If you like it, I'm gonna continue doing it that way. Please let me know.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter :)

“Welcome to my little home,” Skye said as she unlocked the door, and she and the boy behind her, Grant, entered the house. Without really looking at the wall, she found the light switch and turned the lights on, revealing a relatively messy living room. Skye’s cheeks heated as she stepped forward, immediately picking up the cardigan by her feet that she threw some time in the last week…or month. She looked back at her guest, who was standing by the door awkwardly with his hands in his pockets, looking around the room. “Sorry about the mess,” she said, rubbing the nape of her neck. “I…didn’t really expect anyone.”

“It’s okay,” Grant said quietly, like he was afraid to say anything. “I like it. It’s…warm.” In any other case, Skye might’ve laughed at that because the cabin was in the middle of the woods and she’d forgotten to turn on the heater, even though it was about to become more than just _cold_ , yet she just smiled understandingly. She knew Grant wasn’t talking about the weather. She was talking about the general _feel_ of the room.

“Thank you. Well, make yourself at home,” she said as she walked into the living room, and then suddenly halted into a stop before turning around. Grant was staring at her with a puzzled look, his eyes wide. “Or comfortable. You know, whichever you prefer.” She forced a smile again before taking a black sports bra and sports shorts from the couch, putting them aside. She was watching Grant from the corner of her eyes as he stepped in slowly, looking at every corner of the small room. The boy didn’t look comfortable, Skye could see. It would take time for him to get used to here, and get over the initial cautiousness. She promised herself that she’d help him in any way she could.

Grant stopped in front of the couch as Skye took out a blanket, and stared at it for a while. Skye approached her slowly. “You can sit down,” she said quietly, not wanting to scare off the obviously distracted kid. Grant took a deep breath as he sat at the corner of the couch, leaving three quarters of it empty. “I have a feeling you don’t understand the meaning of comfortable,” she said with a sigh as she put the blanket to the other side of the couch. Grant looked up at her.

“I don’t… I don’t want to bother you,” he stuttered out as two red dots appeared on his cheeks. Skye lifted her brows at the ridiculousness of the sentence. To be honest, she was delighted to have him here, and not just because that meant a step towards completing her mission and getting what she wanted, but it also meant she didn’t have to be alone anymore.

“Grant, do I look like someone who’d need almost all of the couch to be comfortable?” The boy looked away with the words, fiddling with his fingers.

“I don’t want you to-to change your routine because of me.” He looked genuine as he looked up. Skye bit her lip as her heart squeezed. The lost look on the boy’s face, and the self-hatred in his eyes… It told her everything she needed to know, and it was familiar. _Too_ familiar. The boy didn’t even think he was worth anything. Not even a quarter of a couch.

“Look at me,” Skye said as she leaned on the couch. Grant slowly lifted his eyes. “I don’t care if you sit on half of the couch, or lie down, or stand on the table. I am glad that you’re here, and I want you to be comfortable. So you can do whatever you want, Grant, I don’t care as long as you’re happy.” Surprise flickered in his eyes, but he just nodded as he scooted over a bit, leaning back and resting his arm on the back of the couch. He looked back at Skye as she nodded with a smile. “Good. Now do you want coffee or hot chocolate?” she asked as she made her way to the small kitchen. It was an open kitchen, right behind the couch, which consisted of a stove, a counter, a sink and two cupboards, along with a fridge, oven, microwave, kettle and coffee machine. Skye was actually grateful that Director Fury gave her that much, even though she wished it was slightly bigger.

“Hot chocolate,” Grant whispered as Skye was facing the fridge. A smile pulled her lips.

“Great! It had been some time since the last time I made it.” Opening the fridge and the cupboards, she got the ingredients she needed absentmindedly. “Director Fury once said it was so good that he couldn’t believe an eleven year old girl made it.” A sad smile appeared on Skye’s face as she remembered the first couple of months after Fury had found her, and before that when…when she was at her latest—and last—foster home. The man was a cook, and he basically had taught Skye everything he could. She could still remember standing on a stool while he taught her how to chop vegetables, fry eggs, make waffle and pancake batter, bake every single dessert she could think of, and especially prepare hot chocolate in cold winter weathers. She had thought that that time, she’d made it. She finally found her family.

Of course, she ended up being wrong again as soon as… As soon as they found out who she really was.

Shaking her head, she quickly dismissed those thoughts. She could feel Grant’s eyes on herself. “If you wanna know something, you have to ask, you know that right? Trying to read my mind won’t work,” she said, and flashed the young boy a smile over her shoulder while she started to mix the ingredients. Grant was surprised, but after a couple of seconds of silence, he finally asked his question.

“Are you actually making it from scratch?” Skye couldn’t help laughing at his question.

“I don’t like the premade or powder ones. Besides, one of my foster father was a cook, and he taught me everything I wanted to know.” She tried to shrug as if it didn’t matter, not wanting to reveal her emotions in front of a half stranger. “And also, there aren’t many markets or restaurants around here, so I pretty much cook everything myself.” Grant furrowed his brows as Skye started to heat the mixture, stirring it in every couple of seconds.

“How long have you been here?” Taking a deep breath, she half turned to the boy.

“Four years now.” She bit her lip, weighing her words before she continued. “But it was for the best. Trust me,” she said as her mind wandered to that night five years ago, the night that changed everything…

* * *

_Skye usually trusted her instincts. Being in an orphanage, where she didn’t know if the staff was in a good mood or not, if they would give the children enough food and water or completely forget about them, or generally if she needed to avoid someone or something, she had to learn how to spot the signs of good and bad. However, that night, she couldn’t have guessed what would happen, as there were no clues,_ nothing _that indicated something would go wrong. Like any other night, and she and her foster parents had taken the dog out for a walk. It was already dark even though it was only six thirty p.m., but considering it was the middle of January, it wasn’t surprising. It had even snowed the day before, even though there were no snow around._

_Probably because it had rained the whole day. The rain had stopped just an hour ago, so the three of them had continued their routine of going for a walk each night with the dog._

_Skye could remember the events oh-so clearly as she sat down in her bedroom, just staring at the wall. Even though she was motionless, her mind—and if she had to be honest, her heart—was frantic. Because she knew what was about to happen next. She knew, because she’d been through it before._

_Closing her eyes, she thought again if she could’ve done something differently. She weighed the situations one by one, thinking if there was a way to save the situation without…without revealing her powers. Of course, on the street, she had to make a split second choice, she didn’t have hours—or even minutes—to think. Yet still, she couldn’t help assessing the situation again and again, and each time feeling even worse than before as she came up with yet another way to not use her powers._

_Not that there was anything she could do about it now. It was too late. It was_ always _too late._

_She shook her head as her mind wandered back to those horrifying seconds again. One moment, everything was right, and then the other…_

_She should’ve seen it. She should’ve seen the car. She should’ve known roads would be slippery. She should’ve guessed the dog would run to a puddle, even if it was in the middle of the road, and want to play in it. But she didn’t._

_She remembered, as they crossed the road, looking at her foster parents in front of her, thinking this time she’d gotten it right. She’d overheard them talking about adopting her, which was all she ever wanted. A family. And this couple was ready to give her that._

_A smile pulled her lips as she got distracted for just_ seconds _. Seconds that changed everything._

_She’d loosened her grip on the lead of the dog’s collar, which made it run to the puddle right besides her. She realized that all too late as her soon-to-be parents, at least that was what she thought, turned to her with the bark, and the headlights of the car fell onto her. Time slowed down, Skye didn’t know how but it did. The blinding lights of the car mixed with her foster parents’ scared yells, telling her to get away, and the honking of the car. The driver was pushing the brakes, but as Skye turned her head to the car, she knew it was too late. The roads were slippery. It had snowed for two full days, and rain poured down for one. The roads were slippery and the car didn’t have proper tires. Honestly, Skye didn’t even know how she noticed that many details. She could even remember the driver’s horrified face and tight grip on the steering wheel, pulling it back like it could somehow slow down the car._

_It didn’t. Nothing could. She was on the way of the car, and she would be hit in a matter of seconds. She was frozen. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t act. She was just watching the car approach her in slow motion when she felt someone’s grip on her arm. She glanced to her side, to the man next to her. Her foster father. Her soon to be father. He was pulling her, yet her feet seemed to be one with the asphalt under her feet. She couldn’t move, but the look on her father’s face, the terrified look, brought her senses back. The man was_ terrified _of losing her, enough to risk his life for her. It was a first in eleven years._

_And they were about to be crushed by a car that sped a little too much on a rainy day._

_That was when she acted. She acted on instinct. Throwing up her arm, the turned to the car and didn’t think as she shot a wave of vibration to it. Time slowed down again as she could only feel the pounding of her heart, and the power surging through her veins._

_The vibrations hit the car. She didn’t intend them to be that strong. She didn’t intend to throw the car at least thirty feet away. She was just trying to save not even_ herself _, but her father. She needed to save him, because he was one of the only two people who truly cared about her._

_The driver was dead. That much Skye overheard her foster parents say. It was all a blur for her after the car flew away, partly because using her powers in such a powerful way—the car had basically been crumpled up like a paper under the force—drained her energy and made her feel hazy, and partly because she knew she’d ruined everything. She saw the way the couple looked at her. They were shocked, but mostly they were_ scared _._

_Even though they didn’t tell the police what had really happened. Even though they protected her. Even though they took her to their home._

_Skye suddenly felt claustrophobic staying in the small room. The walls were coming at her, threatening to crush her, telling her she’d failed, she was a monster, and she needed to be killed. She just couldn’t take it as she shot up to her feet and ran out. She went to the stairs, needing to get out of the house, to get fresh air, to just…just not worry about anything for a couple of minutes._

_But she couldn’t get what she wanted as she suddenly halted to a stop in front of the living room with her foster mother’s words._

She’s dangerous, can’t you see that? She can’t stay here. She needs to go.

* * *

“So they just abandoned you?” Grant whispered. “Just like that? Because… Because they thought they couldn’t take care of someone like you?” A bad feeling settled in Skye’s stomach as she sipped her hot chocolate. Of course she couldn’t tell the truth to Grant about how she got dropped off at the orphanage by yet another foster family. It would require her to tell the truth about her powers, and she just wasn’t ready for that. Whenever someone had learnt about them, they abandoned her. She didn’t count S.H.I.E.L.D., because taking care of “gifteds” as they liked to call people with powers—in the good way or the bad way—was their _job_. And she couldn’t lose Grant, not when he could help her. Not when he was her only hope in completing her mission. At least for now, and she was so sick of waiting.

Shrugging, she tried to get rid of the sick feeling and continued. “Well, I should’ve expected that. After getting kicked out of two foster homes, I shouldn’t even have tried the third.” Grant didn’t say anything as he stared at his hot chocolate. It was almost finished. Skye straightened up.

“Do you want something to eat?” she asked just to change the topic. She didn’t want to continue lying to this boy who seemed genuinely sad about the situation, and the fact that she didn’t have any other choice bothered her more than she thought.

Grant shook his head in answer to her question. “No. I’m full. I just… Is it okay if I just rest?” Skye was about to laugh at the ridiculousness of the question, but then she realized Grant was serious. He was _seriously_ asking for permission to sleep. She pressed her lips together as she felt tightness in her chest. She didn’t really want to know what he had to endure in the past to ask for permission to sleep, which was one of the basic needs for humans.

“Of course it’s okay, Grant. You can sleep, and eat, and drink, and even go out whenever you want. As long as you don’t burn the kitchen,” she joked with a smile. “I did that once, and trust me, it wasn’t pretty.” And that doesn’t even begin to explain it, she thought as she remembered Director Fury’s reaction. His one-eyed glare could be really scary when he wanted to be.

“I won’t,” Grant promised as he stood up, putting his cup aside. Skye led her into the spare bedroom that Fury had built just for cases like this one.

“This is gonna be your room,” she said as she switched on the light. The room was not that big, consisting of only a bed, a small closet and a counter, yet still Grant blinked as he stepped in.

“This house has two bedrooms?” he asked, making Skye chuckle.

“Trust me, I was surprised at first too, but it comes in handy, right?” Grant nodded after a second, and turned to Skye. There weren’t tears in his eyes, but Skye could see the emotional gratitude behind them.

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely. “For everything you’ve done.” The young girl’s smile widened as she nodded.

“You’re welcome. Make yourself comfortable Grant, I mean it, and… And good night.” A smile actually appeared on the boy’s lips, which made Skye’s heart stutter as she couldn’t deny it made him look ten times hotter. Not just because of that, though. Her heart stuttered because that smile told her she was doing something right. That smile gave her hope.

Shutting the door behind her, that was her thought as she took a deep breath, and went to the fireplace in the living room. There was a vase on it, which was almost the only decoration in the house, and it wasn’t there just to make it look cozier. In fact, it was crucial for Skye because of what it hid.

Lifting the vase, she revealed a fingerprint scanner and a button. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the button and put her thumb over the scanner.

The approved sign written on the scanner told her the call had reached the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Now all she had to do was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up - Director Fury meets with Skye, so we get a little more insight to their relationship. there may be a certain character from MCU showing up, so i hope you'll enjoy it :)


	3. Hope For Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been some time since the last chapter, but my school started this Monday, and the teachers literally loaded the homework on our shoulders without caring about it being the first week. Hopefully the next chapter will be posted by Sunday, but depending on my schedule it might take some time. I'm already working on it.
> 
> In this chapter we'll get to see more of Skye and her relationship with Fury, while getting an insight about Fury's thoughts and intentions. Also, one of the Avengers will make an appearance, and I can say that that person will come back later, along with more of them. There isn't much Skyeward in this chapter, but there'll be plenty from now on as this is mainly a Skyeward story, but both Skye and Ward's relationships with other people will affect their actions notably, so it's important for me to establish those relationships as well.
> 
> Hope you like it! And please tell me what you think about the direction the story is going, I'd really appreciate to hear some feedback.

Skye’s eyes were closed as she stood in the open space, right in the middle of the woods, and listened to the sound of the night. At first, it seemed like there was a dead silence, but the more she listened, the voices came to her. The sound of an owl. The shuffling of leaves with the wind. The crunching of the branches under her feet.

And the vibrations of every matter around her, every atom and molecule crashing into each other, slow or fast, vibrating. The air, the trees, the grass, everything. Because of her powers, she would be able to feel everything around her even if she wasn’t looking at it. But even now, even when she was concentrating, she only could feel a fifty feet radius. There was a limit to her powers.

Yet still, she immediately felt the presence of a person. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked right, where she knew Fury was coming from.

That was when she realized there was someone else next to Fury. Another person.

Her heart sped up as she staggered back, her heart pounding. _No_ … Why would Fury bring someone else there? It didn’t make sense. As far as she knew, he was the only one aware of her presence. _To protect you_ , Fury had said, _from people that would want to exploit you if they knew about what you could do_. Skye had just nodded, even though it somewhat confused her. Who would want to be in the same room with a monster, let alone keeping it around?

That didn’t matter, though. Fury’s words were ringing in her head as she tried to calm her heart and put her hands on the ground. She felt the vibrations in the air, all the different kinds of molecules speeding around her, and used them as she propelled herself up and onto a branch of a thick leaved tree.

Right at the moment Fury and a woman, whom she was sure she’d never met her, appeared. Squinting, she eyed the duo cautiously as Fury halted into a stop, looking around. The woman’s arms were crossed as she was looking at the trees. Skye made sure she wasn’t visible under the layers of leaves, watching the woman as if somehow she could read her mind.

Maybe that was her power. She could read minds, or even control them like Professor X in X-Men. Maybe she forced Fury to bring her to Skye, just so that she could exploit the young girl’s powers.

“Skye, I know you can feel me, even if you can’t see,” Fury said loudly into the open space, making Skye’s heart flutter. She gulped as she tried not to make a sound, giving the woman a death stare. She wasn’t about the reveal herself to a complete stranger.

“Agent Romanoff won’t hurt you, trust me,” Fury tried to assure her. Still Skye didn’t move. One thing she learnt in the last 16 years was that she could only trust herself, no matter what. If she wanted to get something, if she _needed_ something, she could only rely on herself to do it.

She’d learnt it the hard way.

“At least if she doesn’t attack me,” the woman said, making Skye stiffen. No, she really wasn’t about to trust this woman.

Fury glared at the woman before turning around and looked at the clearing. He looked exasperated almost. “Look, I know you didn’t expect that, but Romanoff is our best agent. She offered to help us with your new recruit.”

“Grant Ward it is, right?” the woman said as she stepped forward, her eyes traveling around again. “I saw the boy. It’s easy to find someone when they’re in juvenile facility.” Skye didn’t say anything as the agent took another step towards the tree she was hiding in. Her shoulders tightened as she grasped the branch next to her to steady herself, watching the woman’s movements. “Especially when Garrett is a HYDRA agent.”

“How do you know about that?” Skye couldn’t help asking. She quickly covered her mouth the moment the question left her lips, yet the woman’s gaze turning to the exact tree—and even the exact _branch_ —she was on told her she was too late. They were onto her. “She’s on that tree.” Cursing herself, Skye shifted her position as she tried to think of what to do. She certainly didn’t want to reveal herself to a stranger, even though she now had realized how ridiculous her Professor X theory was.

If the woman could actually read or manipulate minds, she would’ve already exposed Skye.

Slowly and reluctantly, Skye let go of the branch and jumped down, landing on her feet smoothly. She was getting real good at the falls, and at fighting as well. She was training almost every day. When she first started, it was to get her powers under control and channel her emotions somewhere else. But now it was because she wanted to get better, she wanted to know how to protect herself without using her powers and possibly causing a massive destruction around her.

She was alert as she stepped out of the shadows, eyeing the woman. Her fingers curled up into fists as she faced Fury.

“I thought no one knew about me.” _You promised_ , she thought since she knew she didn’t need to say it out loud for Fury to understand it. He _knew_ how important secrecy was to Skye.

Fury’s gaze softened as he looked at the young girl. “Agent Romanoff is trustworthy, Skye. She’s not going to tell anyone about you.” He stopped for a second. “Besides, she’s our best agent, and probably our best shot in infiltrating HYDRA.” Skye’s eyes turned to the woman again as the name started to ring a bell. She’d heard it before. Not in the news, or on the street or anything, but she heard it in the time she spent with Fury. He’d mentioned the agent several times during they talked about S.H.I.E.L.D., its objectives, compartmentalization, and missions. No doubt she was good, because Skye didn’t remember Fury talking about anyone else.

“Then why doesn’t she infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. instead of me trying to get a child, barely older than me, to do it?” She lifted her brows as she stared down at the man in front of her. Fury sighed, but before he could say anything the woman stepped forward, looking at Skye. Skye blinked. The expression on the woman’s eyes were not soft, or inviting, but they were definitely strong and truthful. Skye didn’t hesitate to take her hand as she offered it.

“Because it would be too dangerous for me, or you. I know too much about S.H.I.E.L.D., and even if we do assume they know most of the things I know, we can’t risk it. And if I’m caught, it means there’s a chance they’ll obtain all of that information that’ll put many people in danger, now including you.” She searched my eyes. “There’s a reason Fury didn’t put you in the Index when he found out about HYDRA: He didn’t want them finding out about you. Which is why we’re going out of our way to do this. Now that boy, Grant Ward, has a way in, and if you teach him well Garrett won’t suspect anything.” She didn’t turn her gaze away from the young girl. “We need your help, and not just because you’re in danger, but if we fail many people will also be.” Skye didn’t say anything for a while as she studied Agent Romanoff’s expression before clearing her throat. She lifted her eyes.

“I already got Grant and he didn’t run away. If Garrett continues his MO, he’ll be back in six months.” Fury nodded.

“Yeah, we know. That’s why we’re trying to help you any way we can.” He produced a relatively small file from his jacket. “Here’s everything we could gather up on him.” Skye’s fingers closed up around the dull colored file, but she hesitated before she opened it. Besides the fact that the forest was too dark for her to read, she didn’t know what to think about prying around the boy’s life. It was obvious he’s been through some hard stuff, but she would want him to tell her about that. If he found out, there was a chance he wouldn’t trust Skye. Ever.

At least if she were in his shoes, she wouldn’t.

“Okay, thanks,” she still said, deciding maybe if she knew his past she would be able to help him more. She wanted Grant to be okay, and to trust him enough to agree on infiltrating HYDRA. “I’ll look into it.”

“You know the importance of this mission, right?” Agent Romanoff asked. Skye’s gaze turned to her.

“Yes, I do.” And it was true. She knew as she faced Fury, because he agreed to search for her parents in exchange for that, even though he was reluctant to do it no matter how much she begged. But he’d agreed to do it.

Skye looked at Fury as he nodded, as an approval to what he promised her years ago, when she first discovered HYDRA.

* * *

_Director Fury knew when she got Skye’s call in the middle of the day, especially in a time she knew he’d be busy, there was something seriously wrong. Usually, the young woman wouldn’t even contact her except the weekly meetings they had. She understood the importance of staying hidden, considering her powers, and never really got out in the open and used them. Even though he wasn’t exactly comfortable with letting a twelve-year-old child live all by herself in the middle of the woods, at the end it was her choice._

_At least that was what he had told himself to feel better if anything happened to the young girl, even though fear and guilt had grasped his heart as he drove to Wyoming._

_He didn’t waste time when he arrived to the house, knowing Skye had probably realized he was there—if she wasn’t in danger. He had his gun out, ready to knock on her door, when it opened, revealing an irritated and uncomfortable Skye. Her hair was all over the place, her eyes were wide with fear and her hands were shaking as she let Fury in. She hadn’t said a word, not even a sarcastic remark, which made Fury even more worried._

_“Skye, are you okay?” was the first thing he asked as he turned to the girl. Skye lifted her chin. She was trying to look strong and unaffected, Fury realized, but her shaky lips and paper white face gave her away. She took a deep breath._

_“Does HYDRA mean anything to you?” she asked with a wavering voice. Fury froze with her words, looking over at the young girl. There was no way she would’ve heard that name, S.H.I.E.L.D. had done a pretty good job covering it up. Besides, Skye was literally in the middle of nowhere._

_“Why are you asking me that?” he asked. “Where did you hear that name?” Taking a deep breath, Skye sat on the couch, running her fingers through her hair harshly._

_“I was… I was testing my abilities the other day. But like in a cautious way, making sure no one was around, and I was jumping around in the trees when… When I heard a car. And I thought it was you, because honestly no one else had come here before, but it was a different car. And some guy I didn’t recognize stepped out. Garrett, I think his name was.” Fury furrowed his brows. The name was familiar, he was almost certainly sure it was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, yet he’d never met the guy in person. He gestured Skye to continue._

_“He had a kid with him. Not as young as me, but like he was 16 or 17. And… And he told the kid about S.H.I.E.L.D. for a while, and…and HYDRA. He said he was working with them, and he needed the kid’s help, though I couldn’t hear what it was about.”_

_Fury’s heart sank._ No, it’s impossible _, he thought. Captain America himself had defeated HYDRA years ago. And even if they did somehow survive after that, if they were into S.H.I.E.L.D., he should’ve noticed. He_ would’ve _._

_“Are you sure you heard the name right?” he asked Skye. She pressed her lips together as she nodded._

_“Is it something dangerous?” she said with a quiet, small voice of a scared child. Fury didn’t know what to say as he eyed the girl. The last thing he wanted was to involve this girl in HYDRA, especially if what she heard was true._

_“What else did Garrett say? Or the child? You know who he is?” Skye shook her head._

_“No, I don’t but… But I know he’s still here. At least I hope.” Fury stopped._

_“What?”_

_“He left the boy here. Garrett.” Fury frowned, trying to figure out why a HYDRA agent would leave a vulnerable child in the middle of nowhere. At least without resources. He was helping Skye whenever he can._

_“Did you talk to the boy?” Skye shook her head, at least relieving Fury. “Good. Don’t. In fact, don’t go out for a while, and stay away from anyone. If someone comes to this cabin, don’t answer if it isn’t me, even though they say they’re S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. I’ll come as soon as I can, okay?” He knelt down to be the same height with the innocent girl, who was looking at him with wide eyes and quivering lips. “If anyone comes… Protect yourself with_ any means necessary _.” He tried to tell Skye with his eyes that “any means” included using her powers, even though it’d kill her opponent. “Be safe, and careful.” The girl nodded as the agent stood up. For a child as young as she was, there was a twinge of understanding and intelligence behind her eyes, telling Fury that she was more mature than he’d initially believed. And she would follow his orders to keep herself safe._

_“I’ll be back,” he promised her again before giving the girl a tight hug, and left the house. He heard the lock being turned twice, and made sure the door was really locked before leaving to find the young boy, the boy supposedly involved with HYDRA._

_He was seriously hoping that was all a misunderstanding._

* * *

“Do you think we’re making the right decision?” Agent Romanoff asked after she watched Skye leave and disappear in the trees. Her eyes turned to the Director, her arms crossed, as she watched her superior. “She’s just a child.”

“She’s much more than that,” Fury disagreed, and then sighed. He suddenly looked like he aged 10 years, exhausted and drained off. “I’m not sure if this is right, but she was the one who proposed that. If I could get you to infiltrate HYDRA, I would, but we don’t know any of their agents except Garrett, and no one will believe you if you go up to him and asked to be a part of them. Besides, we don’t know how big they are, so until we get more information there’s not much we can do. That boy is our only chance.”

“Shouldn’t he be trained by someone else? A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, maybe?” Fury shook his head.

“It’s too risky if Garrett finds out. Besides, the boy needs someone who can understand him. Skye is our best shot. That doesn’t sound very good, but it’s true. That’s why we have to place our bets on her and hope that it’ll work.” He shook his head. “She has a reason for doing all of that, and succeed. And I believe that she can.”

“I guess we can’t do anything but hope, right?” Fury took a deep breath and shook his head.

“No. Unfortunately…no.”


	4. Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know it had been some time, but literally I barely could lift my head from school work, and it only had been like two weeks. I'm even writing this in lesson (don't tell that to my teacher). Anyway, in this chapter I promised more Grant and Skye, and that's what you're getting. They're having a heart to heart conversation, and you'll get a look at both of their pasts. I tried to stay true to their stories from the TV show for now, but there might be some alterations in the future. Still, I hope you like it!

Skye was bothered by the existence of Grant’s file in her house, even though it was securely away from his eyes, in her secret compartment in the fireplace. Still, as she was preparing pancakes, her gaze couldn’t help fluttering over there, eyeing the compartment like she could put it on fire with her eyes and not care the burden of peeking at the poor boy’s past without his consent.

Even though she hadn’t even taken a peek at the file yet. She’d just brought it home, hid it, and went to sleep, telling herself that she could deal with it the next day. Still it was a restless night, and she’d woken up earlier than normal. It was approximately seven thirty then, and she’d been awake for one hour, yet she hadn’t dared to open the file. She wished she could forget about it, because a part of her actually _wanted to_ open and read it. It was wrong, she knew it. The last thing she would’ve wanted would be someone sneaking around her past. She had too many secrets for that.

What if Grant had them too? Secrets he didn’t want anyone, let alone a stranger, to find out? She’d understand that, it wasn’t like she was being completely truthful to him. She just didn’t want to lose his trust completely when they had just met each other. When she needed a lot from him. When his trust could give Skye everything she ever wanted.

A family. Her _real_ family.

So no, she didn’t want to take any risks, even if the files could be helpful in reaching the young boy.

Shaking her head, she was ready to push the feelings away as she turned to the pan in front of her, only to realize that its handle… It was bent under Skye’s fingers. She had gripped it too tightly, and she hadn’t even realized she was using her powers. It sometimes happened when she was stressed, or too lost in thoughts. But if Grant was going to live in her house, she had to get a grip at them.

Shaking her head, she poured the pancake batter on the pan and started cooking the pancakes absentmindedly, yet she was focused enough not to use her powers.

She was just thinking about waking Grant up after finishing the pancakes when the door of his room opened. Skye lifted her eyes for a second as she put the last pancake on the stack. A smile pulled her lips at the boy’s disheveled hair and innocent expression. She was pretty sure he was older than her, yet she couldn’t help the protective instinct she developed over him. She might need something from him, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t feel affection towards the boy.

“Good morning,” Skye said as cheerfully as possible, pushing all the thoughts about the file and her powers aside. She didn’t need them right now.

“Good morning,” Grant said, walking up to the kitchen. When his gaze caught the stack of pancakes, which was probably too high for two people, he stopped. “You made pancakes?” This time, Skye didn’t need to force her smile.

“Of course I did. Pancakes are literally breakfast heavens.” That earned a smile from the young boy, and made Skye feel proud. She couldn’t help again thinking how handsome he actually was when he was smiling. If he… If he had a normal life, he’d probably be the popular guy in school with those looks.

Not that either of them _had_ a good life.

“Well, it smells really good,” Grant continued, standing behind the table. Skye gestured him to sit down.

“Sit down, get comfortable. I’ll bring the breakfast in a second.” She turned off the coffee machine before pouring the coffee into two cups. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah,” Grant said without hesitation, which made Skye forget about the file for at least that time and feel good about herself. “Thank you for everything you did.” The young girl laughed at his words.

“You do realize you thanked me yesterday, right?” she said as she put the pancakes in the middle of the table, along with maple syrup and butter.

“You gave me a place to live without hesitation. I think you deserve that.” Even though there was a smile on Skye’s face, she couldn’t help feeling a tightness in her chest. Taking a deep breath, she tried to get rid of that feeling.

“And you did give me that, Grant,” she said softly as she brought the coffees and sat down across him. “What Garrett did to you wasn’t right.” Grant pressed his lips together, staring at the pancake stack. His face was slightly pale, Skye realized. He was distressed. Which was understandable, of course, for a situation like the one he was in.

“He told me if I wanted something, I had to earn it. Even if it meant living in the woods alone for months. He said that was the only way for me to be strong. And this… Staying with you feels like cheating.” Skye took in a shuddered breath. She’d heard the boy’s conversation with the HYDRA agent, of course, but still it was like a punch in the gut.

“It’s true that if you want to earn something, you have to do everything to get it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get help from anyone.” She reached for Grant’s hand. “Look, I know what it feels like to be alone, to not have anyone to trust. But Garrett was wrong. Not wanting to stay in the woods without anyone or anything doesn’t make you weak or worthless. No one in their right mind would want that.” The young boy didn’t do anything for a while with Skye’s words. He shook his head in the end.

“I don’t want to be nothing,” he whispered. “Not anymore. I can’t… I can’t do it.” Skye grimaced with the honest, desperate words coming out of Grant’s mouth, further confirming something _had happened_ to him.

Maybe in that file…

_No_ , she thought immediately. That file was—and should be—her last resort, not her first solution. She would try to figure him out on her own, try to get him to open up, and then if he remained closed off and distant she would think about looking the file. But not a second earlier.

“That’s what he told you, right?” Skye guessed. “Garrett? He told you he was gonna make you something.” Grant was hesitant before he answered.

“He told me no one would mess with me again.” Skye smiled sadly and squeezed the boy’s hand.

“Well, he was using you. Using your weaknesses to manipulate you. He doesn’t care about you, Grant, he’s not that kind of a person. He wants something from you?”

“What?” Grant asked quickly as he lifted his gaze. “What does he want?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Skye stopped for a second, eyeing the boy. There was still hesitation in his eyes. He seemed like he still couldn’t completely believe that Garrett was actually a bad guy. “But we can discuss that after the breakfast. Now eat. I might’ve never gone to a juvie, but I know they don’t give you much there.” Grant scoffed.

“Well, they definitely don’t give homemade pancakes. Or…any kind of pancakes in that matter.” Skye couldn’t help snorting.

“Not surprised. Their conditions are even worse than an orphanage. Trust me, I know.” The young boy looked up from his food to Skye. At first, she thought the emotion behind Grant’s eyes were pity, but then she realized it was just pure pain and understanding. She never thought having a family could be worse than being in an orphanage for obvious reasons, but she began to realize whatever Grant had gone through was at least as bad as her childhood.

“You don’t know your parents?” Grant asked curiously. Skye shook his head. Normally, that was the kind of information she didn’t like to share with anyone, but she knew if she expected Grant to open up, she had to take the first step. And _that_ was the reason she had to tell him, not because she wanted to. Grant was still a stranger, and no matter how close she felt to him, and how he seemed to understand her better than anyone, he was a stranger.

“Nope. As far as I could find at the orphanage, I was left without much of a note. I never found out why.” _At least at first_ , Skye thought. Now that she’d been through what she’d been through, she suspected it might be about her powers. She didn’t know when exactly she got them—she didn’t remember a time she didn’t have them—yet it was fair to assume she was born with them.

She was trying not to contemplate on that a lot.

“And you’ve never met them?” Grant continued. Skye bit her lip.

“I tried to find them, but considering the resources I had—or lack thereof, I couldn’t find much other than that they had never contacted the orphanage. And none of my foster parents wanted to adopt me. So you could say I don’t really have a family.” She tried to shrug to hide her pain, but it didn’t work. It never worked, which was why she absolutely hated talking about herself.

There really was nothing good to say.

“I’m sorry to hear that. You… You seem like a good girl. You didn’t deserve that.” Skye scoffed, but instead of answering she changed the topic.

“How…about you? If you don’t mind me asking?” Grant didn’t say anything for a long time. Skye doubted he even breathed. He was just staring at his plate, doing nothing. She was just about to say he didn’t have to tell her anything if he didn’t want to when he started talking.

“Sometimes I think my parents didn’t care about me at all. Like…like someone had left me in front of their door and they were forced to take care of me.” He took a deep breath. Skye could see how hard it was, like he was forcing the words out. She suddenly wanted to walk next to him and pull him in her embrace, and tell him everything was going to be okay. It would be a lie, of course, but it hurt her to see someone like Grant, who probably could have had everything, had nothing.

Not even self-respect or confidence.

“I don’t know if you know my family, but…they were the definition of horrible. I had a brother who beat the crap out of me. Me and…and my little brother. For nothing.” At that, Grant stopped, trying to pull himself together. Skye didn’t realize tears had filled her eyes before her vision blurred. She blinked but it wasn’t working, it only enlarged the already huge knot in her throat. _It isn’t fair_ , she thought again, not that it could change anything. Anything was rarely fair for people like them.

“For… For eating a piece of his birthday cake. Or for stealing his toys. Things like that. I couldn’t protect myself. I was scared.” Skye could only shake his head.

“What about your parents?” she couldn’t help asking. Her voice wavered no matter how much she tried to hide it.

“They were worse. And I… I couldn’t take it anymore.” Skye bit her lip. A part of her wondered what had happened between him and his parents, but he already seemed too uncomfortable. She decided to let it go, at least for then, and felt actually glad she didn’t look at the file. Grant would tell her in his own time. It would be better.

“If you don’t want to, you won’t have to see them again. I’m gonna make sure of that.” Grant lifted his brows.

“You’re younger than me.” Skye rolled her eyes and hit him on the shoulder.

“I’m not a child. Besides, I have a whole spy organization behind me, and I know how to protect myself. Trust me, they won’t get near you.” Grant nodded. “And I’m gonna teach you how to protect yourself too,” she added.

“What?” Smiling, Skye took a huge bite from the cupcakes.

“Well, Garrett promised that if you went with him, no one would mess with you again. I can make that happen as well. In a much better way, without making you suffer and all that shit.” Grant was taken aback. He seemed like he didn’t expect any of that.

“Would… Would you really?” Skye frowned.

“Of course. I promised you.” Grant bit his lip, looking at his plate. Skye realized he was trying not to cry, not in front of her. Not that she would’ve minded. Still, she appreciated the boy’s effort to look strong. That was the first step in being that.

“Thank you.” Nodding, Skye took the empty plates from the table. There was a smile plastered on her face, albeit a sad one. Of course she was training Grant so that he would be able to infiltrate HYDRA, yet a part of her wished they were both normal teenagers going to a vacation in the woods and having fun. She’d never wanted that so much.

But it wasn’t the truth, and it wouldn’t be if the multiverse theory wasn’t true. So she bit back her tears and said the thing she was supposed to say.

“We’re starting today.”


	5. Rise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I know it had been some time, but you can't believe the load of work the school gave us for the last couple of weeks. I literally couldn't lift my head from all the presentations and quizzes and homework and exams. Hopefully, after the PSATs this Saturday I'll be able to update more frequently!
> 
> Just like last chapter, I dedicated this one to Skyeward as well, and we see a little bit of their training. I took some quotes from the TV show and used them in a different way, and I hope you like it. It was a lot fun to write, especially Skye as the S.O. (in a way) and Grant as the rookie, imagining how they would be in that situation, so I hope you like it.
> 
> Also, if there's anything you want to see, please let me know :) I have a couple of ideas about where I want this to go, but I would also like to hear your opinions. Thanks in advance!

Skye was perched up on a tree, looking down at her little cabin’s garden—if you could call it that, of course. It was at most 10 yards, filled with grasses of different heights and three or four flowers scattered around. It wasn’t even taken care of, since it turned out she was horrible at gardening.

But she wasn’t up there to appreciate the view of her cabin, or even the garden.

Instead, she was looking at the young boy standing in the garden, looking up at the trees. A smile pulled her lips as she shifted her position to see more clearly.

“Come on, Grant. How hard could it be?” she asked, teasing the boy. There was a small smile on her face, almost evil, as she stepped on another branch, steadied herself by holding onto the trunk of the tree. Grant was still looking around with a confused and slightly annoyed look on his face.

“How hard could it be? You’re asking me to spot you in one of the twenty trees around me that, by the way, has pretty thick leaves.” Skye chuckled as she sat down. Grant was right, the leaves did have thick trees that almost blocked her view, but she could see him clearly right now.

“I can see you,” she said in a cocky voice, swinging her legs. She wasn’t making it hard for Grant to spot her, in fact she wasn’t trying hard not to be stopped. Not like she would’ve normally done. She wasn’t even bothering to use her powers. It usually tired her down quickly, and they’d just started training. Well, sort of, since the only thing they’d done for the last fifteen minutes was she hiding in the trees and Grant looking around, trying to find her.

With Skye’s reply, Grant squinted and looked up at the trees again, stepping forward. There was determination in his eyes as he eyed each tree one by one. The smile was plastered on Skye’s face, she couldn’t erase it off.

“You’re lying,” he said as his eyes stopped on the tree Skye was on. For a moment, she thought he’d seen him, but then he turned his gaze away to her disappointment.

“Well, I’m not. You just need to look more carefully.” She could almost feel Grant snort, even though she couldn’t hear it. “It’s not that hard, Grant. I’m not even trying right now.” She stood up again, balancing herself by holding onto the tree trunk.

“How is this going to help me be strong? I thought you were gonna teach me how to fight.” Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair.

“Being observant, noticing small details are skills most people underestimate. But when someone is following you, if you can’t notice them before they attack, those fighting skills won’t be helpful. You need to pay attention to your surroundings, being able to see every at once, especially the things that are out of ordinary. That might be the difference between life and death.” Grant scoffed, but Skye could see his stubbornness. He focused even more, stepped forward, looking around again and again. Skye didn’t dare move. From her place, she could see Grant very clearly. If he looked more closely, she guessed he’d see her as well.

And he’d seen her. Granted, it took him almost two full minutes, but finally their eyes met, and a smile pulled Skye’s lips. She could see in Grant’s eyes that he’d seen her.

“Gotcha,” he said with a grin. His eyes were shining as well. Skye’s heart skipped a beat as she climbed down the tree, slowly since she couldn’t use her powers. She’d normally just jump down, landing softly with the help of them, but Grant couldn’t see her using her power. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Jumping down from five feet up, she wiped her hands to her sports shorts and smiled. “See? Told you you could do it.” The grin on Grant’s face still hadn’t faded as he took out his hands from the pockets of his cardigan.

“I see the clothes fit you,” she said, looking at the loose cardigan, black plain t-shirt and sweat pants he was wearing. They were Fury’s supply for her “guests,” not that Skye had told Grant that. She very subtly remarked they were her ex’s, which stopped Grant from asking any question.

“Yeah. They’re… They’re really comfortable. You don’t mind, right?” Shaking her head, she laughed.

“No, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” She crossed her arms. “So how did you like my little test?” Lifting her brows, she eyed the young boy, fighting her grin. In contrast, the boy’s smile disappeared.

“Aside from the fact that I don’t know how you managed to climb that high on that tree, you’re really good at hiding. Or I’m bad at observing.” Skye shrugged.

“You did pretty good. And yes, I’m good at hiding. You forget that I spent all of my life either running away or hiding from someone.” _And I have powers, but that’s not something you need to know_ , she thought.

“Right.” And that was all Grant said before he nodded, digging her hands to the pockets of his cardigan. “So, what are we going to do today?” A smile pulled Skye’s lips as she stepped forward.

“Come with me,” she said as she hesitantly grabbed his hand. Grant didn’t object, on the contrary he held her hand back, squeezing it soothingly. The corners of Skye’s lips tipped up. The boy was starting to open up. He was still closed off, slightly staying away from Skye, and yet Skye could see a spark of trust in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

Opening the door of her house, she stepped forward. “Okay, I’m about to show you something nobody knows about. Well, except the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. But anyway.”

“What?” Grant asked as she led him to the other side of the cabin, right next to her own bedroom. In front of a bookcase. She remembered when Fury said the secret door to her training room would be a bookcase, and what she had thought.

“Isn’t that a little too obvious?” she’d asked him, and he’d laughed.

“What do you mean?” Skye had lifted her brows and crossed her arms.

“A secret room behind a bookcase? I might’ve spent my childhood in an orphanage, but I know that’s the most cliché thing ever. Every secret room is behind a bookcase in the movies.” Fury had smiled as he pulled back two of the books to reveal a keypad.

“That is why no one would think anything is behind here. It’s too obvious.” He’d winked at her as he opened the door.

Shaking her thoughts away, Skye pressed the password to the keypad and the bookcase slid down to the side, revealing the secret passage. She glanced at Grant to see his reaction. His eyes were wide.

“You have a secret room behind your bookcase?” Grinning, Skye flipped the lights on as she walked in, Grant behind her.

“Yep.”

“Isn’t that…a little bit predictable?” Skye couldn’t help laughing as she looked over her shoulder.

“Yep. That’s exactly the point. Spies look for the most unpredictable things in the most unpredictable places, because that’s where people usually hide those stuffs. Which is why this was the best hiding spot.” Skye flipped on another light switch when she reached downstairs. “Besides, it makes me feel like I’m in a science fiction movie.” Grinning, she gestured to the room. “Welcome to my high-tech training-slash-computing room.”

Grant’s mouth dropped with the sight. The room _was_ high-tech, Skye wasn’t lying. There were basic equipment you’d see in a gym, like a cross trainer, a barbell on the corner, a pull up bar, and right in the middle a matted floor with a punching bag hanging from the wall. There was a bunch of other stuff Skye couldn’t remember the names of. But on the other side of the room, behind the glass, that was where the cool stuff were. That was the computing room, filled with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s future technology. As it turned out, she had a knack for computers, and in fact managed to hack into some of their files when she were under Fury’s protection, so they decided to put that skill to use. She not only used the computers for herself, but when S.H.I.E.L.D. or Fury needed something done under the covers, they called her.

Oh, and the room had a hologram training program. Which was the coolest thing in the world, in Skye’s opinion. Apparently, it was Tony Stark’s idea. Basically, the computer created an opponent for her, and the hologram machines projected it to the room. She then wore the training suit, which was programmed to detect the holograms and force her to act accordingly. It wasn’t as good as fighting a real person, but it helped her create several scenarios to see how they played out. And thanks to her costume, instead of her hand passing through them, the suit would stop her. She spent days trying to figure out the technology behind it, but with her limited knowledge it was impossible, even with the online lessons he took about computing.

“You weren’t lying when you said ‘high-tech.’” Skye shook her head.

“No. I don’t think most of this technology is available for public use. They’re S.H.I.E.L.D.’s. But they’re pretty cool.” Grant looked around the room one more time, and nodded.

“I…can see.”

“So, do you wanna give them a try?” she asked, stepping onto the mats, and gave a light punch to the punching bag.

* * *

_“You gotta go harder, Skye.” Fury’s voice was muffled in her ears as she threw another strong punch to the punching bag, hard enough that despite the relatively soft cushion, she felt slight ringing in her ears. This was only her third training session._

_“I_ am _going harder,” she complained, this time using her left hand. The punch was clumsy, yet she tried not to show that she lost her balance. Fury looked at her from behind the punching back, his hands holding it tighter._

_“Yes, you are, but you’re also losing your balance. If you weren’t punching a punching bag and a person, you’d be on the floor by now.” Scowling, she planted her feet to the ground strongly, balancing herself again, and then hit the punching bag. This time, instead of staying motionless, Fury pushed the punching back slightly, meeting her punch. It was so unexpected that she stumbled back and almost fell down._

_“Hey!” she yelled, spreading her arms. “You_ pushed _.” Sighing, Fury revealed herself from behind the huge bag. He looked almost exasperated._

_“Yes, and so will your opponents, Skye. No one is going to stand there and take your punches.” Skye lifted her chin stubbornly. She was a small girl, thin too as a result of the years she spent in the orphanage, yet she wasn’t weak. She was strong. If anyone stood in her way… Well, she knew how to get rid of them._

_“They might be prepared for my punches, but they’re not prepared for my powers,” she shot back, and to prove her point shook the ground only slightly. She still didn’t get a hang of them, she was scared she would bring the whole building down on their heads. She felt Fury’s eyes on her._

_“Yes, they aren’t. But you aren’t prepared either.” Stepping forward, he stood right in front of the young girl, towering over her. Even if she hadn’t been short, Fury was a tall man. She fought her urge to wince and step back. She wouldn’t show weakness to the agent. “I gave you a choice when I first took you in. I could either raise you as a normal teenager, keeping you out of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s business, or I could train you to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent._ You _chose the latter. And now you act like you don’t even care about it.”_

_“I do care!” she yelled. Her fingers curled up into fists. She was trying hard to control her powers. She had to take a few deep breaths before she got a complete grip on them._

_“Well, right now you don’t act like you do!” Fury shook his head as he stepped forward again, closing the distance between them. “There will be a moment when you have to commit to this, or bail. And right now, you’re not_ committing _.” Skye pressed her lips together angrily and pushed her hair back. She didn’t like being talked down to, yet the agent had a point. She didn’t much care about the training sessions. She had her powers. But she’d seen time and time again that they might fail her. If she lost control or…couldn’t use them at all. And she did truly want to be an agent. She was sick of being nothing, a girl who couldn’t fit in anywhere. S.H.I.E.L.D.? They were the only people who didn’t care about her powers. They were dealing with the exact stuff she was dealing with. She had to be a part of it._

_“Okay. I will do it,” she promised, nodding. “I will commit.” Fury must have seen it in her eyes that she was determined, because he smiled as he walked back to the behind of the punching bag._

_“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” Grabbing the bag, he gestured Skye to step forward. “Now let’s start over, okay?”_

* * *

“Plant your feet on the ground more strongly,” Skye urged Grant, holding the punching bag tightly. “And don’t be scared of hitting it. Don’t worry, unlike many opponents you’ll face, a punching bag doesn’t punch back.” A smile was on her face as she looked at Grant, remembering the first weeks of her training. Grant was much more determined than he’d ever been, and much more scared, yet he was trying not to show it. Taking a deep breath, he straightened up his shoulders, his hands dangling on the sides. She smiled. “You wanna know the hardest part about boxing?” she asked, getting the boy’s attention. Grant looked at her, blinking with doe-eyed expression.

“Um… Getting punched in the face?” Skye laughed, shaking her head. Reaching forward, she grabbed Grant’s band wrapped wrists and pulled them up.

“Keeping your hands up,” she said, positioning them in front of her face. “So that if your opponent isn’t a punching bag and it punches you back, you can protect your face. Understood?” Grant looked at Skye’s fingers wrapped around his wrists first. It took her a moment to realize she’d hold it longer than she was supposed to, and let go immediately. Her heart skipped a beat as she took a deep breath. She couldn’t afford distractions.

Grant shook his head as he turned back to the punching bag and threw a punch. It was weak, yet he hadn’t been clumsy, keeping his balance and posture strong. That was at least a good start.

“Okay, you’re getting better. But don’t forget, punch with your top knuckles, not your fingers or wrist. That is your strongest point. It won’t hurt you much that you can recover from it easily, and it will also do the most damage.” Grant nodded again, and threw another couple of punches before he spoke.

“Did you learn all that in S.H.I.E.L.D.?” he asked. Skye nodded, and then she realized he wasn’t looking at her. Which was a good thing, because his eyes were on the punching bag, focused and hard.

“Yeah. I was training to become an agent. I still am, actually.” Grant lifted his brows.

“You are?” Skye smiled.

“Yep. I was sent here on a mission, to keep an eye out for John Garrett if he ever came back.” This time, Grant looked taken aback. He turned to Skye.

“They sent a twelve year old child for that?” Skye scoffed.

“I can protect myself,” she prompted, knowing how true it was. “Besides, I don’t know any secret of S.H.I.E.L.D., and no one would associate a twelve or sixteen year old girl with a spy organization. I guess in that way I was more fit and expandable for the mission.”

“Don’t… Don’t say that,” Grant whispered suddenly, looking in her eyes. They were filled with pain. He took a deep breath. “I think they sent you because you’re special. You took me in, but more than that you made me feel understood. No one was able to do that. They must know that.” Tears filled Skye’s throat, but she didn’t let Grant see them.

“Well, thank you.” A few moments passed with silence as the only sound was Grant’s punches on the punching bag. He was getting better at it.

“I want to be an agent too,” he said suddenly. “I mean, if it’s possible.” Skye’s chest filled with hope. _Of course_ , she wanted to yell. Of course it was possible. It was amazing, in fact. She didn’t even have to ask Grant to consider being a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. He wanted it, which meant in a couple of months he might be willing to infiltrate HYDRA as an agent. She knew he could prepare him for that. And when that happened…

The thoughts of her family filled her heart as the corners of her lips tipped up.

“Of course it’s possible. But I have to admit, Grant, it’s going to be hard. It might come easy now, but as things get harder, there’ll be a moment when you have to commit to this, or bail.,” she repeated Fury’s words, the exact words that helped her commit a hundred percent. “And if you want this, you have to be committed.” Grant looked determined, the same determination she had when she so desperately wanted to be a part of something. He nodded.

“I’ll be committed.” Skye’s feelings were indescribable as she hid herself behind the punching back.

“Good. Then let’s start, rookie.” She heard Grant’s snort with the name, yet the boy didn’t say anything as he punched with a different kind of strength behind his punches know. It was more than physical. She could also feel the strength of determination behind it, the commitment and the desperation to become something.

That was all she needed to feel hopeful.


	6. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye gets an unexpected visit from a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

It had been past midnight, right after Grant went to bed, and Skye was making a cup of hot chocolate for herself when she felt movement outside the house. It wasn’t anything she would’ve probably noticed if she wasn’t _thinking_ about her powers, and how she had to get a stronger grip at them if she wanted to avoid accidents, just like she almost had today. Well, in her defense, she almost dropped a plate on her head, but she should’ve _let_ it hit her instead of stopping it in the middle of the air. Luckily, Grant hadn’t noticed. Still, if she was going to keep it from him, she couldn’t just use her powers whenever she needed them. She needed to learn how to live without them, just like she’d tried when she was a child.

She was hoping it wouldn’t fail as badly as it did those times.

Putting the hot chocolate on the counter, she looked outside, carefully walking to the light switch. She didn’t need light to see, and if the person outside was dangerous, then she’d use that to her advantage. Turning off the light, she stayed where she was, looking out the window. She couldn’t see it of course, but she could feel it. Shutting her eyes, she let her powers take over, scouring the trees around her to find the intruder. She stretched them as far as she could without losing a grip.

And there the intruder was. Her eyes flew open. He—or she—was right in front of Skye’s window, standing motionless, staring right at her. Her heart started pounding in her ears. The intruder almost looked like he could see her, which was impossible. At least that was what Skye thought.

She stayed as silent and still as possible, just looking outside, waiting for the intruder to move. He didn’t. She felt like his eyes were drilling right through her, even though she couldn’t see him. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward as silently as possible, one step at a time, not rushing anything. The intruder still hadn’t moved, which wasn’t helping with Skye’s fear at all. She reached for the handle of the window, opening it, one hand in front of her in case the intruder attacked unexpectedly. She felt grateful once again that she had her powers.

She threw the window open, getting ready to shoot a vibration blast, when a light flicked on and blinded her for a moment. Her heart rate spiked up as she frantically opened her palm, sending off that vibration blast. The light disappeared as quickly as it came, yet it took Skye another couple of moments to adjust her eyes to the darkness as she couldn’t remember to use her powers for that.

“That really wasn’t necessary,” someone grunted from the ground a couple of feet away from the house. The voice was utterly familiar to Skye, though it still took some thinking to put a name to it. She dropped her hand.

“Agent Romanoff?” she whispered, leaning out the window. The silhouette of the agent appeared in front of her, illuminated by the moon in the sky. She still couldn’t see the agent’s features, yet now it was obvious to Skye that it was a woman’s figure. She pressed her lips together. “What are you doing here?” she couldn’t help asking.

“Obviously, I’m here to see you.” She put her hands on her hips. “Now are we going to talk in the dark, standing, or are you going to let me in?” Coming to her senses, Skye went to the door quickly and threw it open after turning on the lights. The woman was standing right in front of her with a piece of grass in her ruffled hair, a small cut on her forehead, which was bleeding only slightly, and a tear on the right arm of her uniform. Her arms were crossed.

“Grant can’t see you,” Skye said before the agent could start, and got a snort instead of a reply. Without waiting for Skye to invite her in or step aside, she walked in, pushing the door shut behind her. Skye couldn’t do anything.

“I was planning of telling this step by step, but since you mentioned him, let’s go right into the subject, okay?” Agent Romanoff turned around. “Grant isn’t fit to infiltrate HYDRA.” Skye’s mouth dropped open with the unexpected comment. She narrowed her eyes.

“What the hell are you talking about?” she said, trying to be as quiet as possible. Her heart had stuttered in her chest, yet she tried to control her emotions and made sure her face was as blank as possible. She wasn’t about to show weakness in front of a stranger, let alone a stranger who was a highly skilled agent.

“Exactly what I said. Grant isn’t fit to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, let alone infiltrating HYDRA, which is dangerous for even the most skilled agents, myself included. And I’m not talking about readiness. I’m talking about his personality.”

“Grant isn’t a bad person,” Skye objected immediately. “He wants to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He’s committed more than I have ever been. He can do this.” Agent Romanoff smiled and shook her head, but there wasn’t anything warm or friendly about her smile. In fact, it felt Skye feel small, like she had failed to notice something she should’ve seen.

“You haven’t read his file, have you?” the agent asked. Skye’s mouth dropped open as she struggled to find an answer. If she said yes, then the agent would definitely question her and she’d fail. If she said no, she’d prove that she didn’t know who Grant Ward was, thus there was no way of for her to know if he was good or not.

“And I’m guessing you’ve read it several times, right?” she asked instead, trying to avoid being the focus of the conversation. Agent Romanoff just shrugged.

“I’ve prepared it.” Skye scoffed.

“Why am I not surprised?” she muttered under her breath as she crossed her arms. If the agent had heard, she ignored it.

“And you should read it, too. I don’t know about you, but before I’d let someone live in my house, I’d rather know every single thing about them, _especially_ the things they want to hide.” Skye clenched her teeth, almost wanting to laugh.

“Of course you’d say that,” she shot back. “The perfect S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. How could you know about having nothing growing up? How could you know anything about having a secret to hide, a secret so important it might cost you your life or freedom?” The words had left her mouth without her intention, and she couldn’t stop herself. “How could you know about not being able to be your true self, knowing people around you wouldn’t accept that person?” Her voice trailed off when Skye realized the agent’s face stayed blank, without a twinge of reaction in her eyes. Feeling annoyed, she clenched her teeth and crossed her arms. “Feeling amused?”

“No.” The agent’s answer was quick. Uncrossing her arms, she straightened up. Her eyes had softened. “No, I’m not. I know exactly how it feels like.” Skye was ready to retort back an answer when she stopped. There was something in the woman’s eyes, something that made her seem like more than just an agent. Skye knew that look. It wasn’t the look of someone that didn’t understand what it was like to have a terrible childhood. The agent had been through something as well.

What it was, though, was anybody’s guess because Agent Romanoff immediately changed the subject as she sighed. “Let’s sit down, okay?” she said, gesturing Skye to the couch. Reluctantly Skye nodded.

“I don’t want to know what Grant did in his past,” she said stubbornly. “I won’t do that to him.” If there was something Skye valued more than anything, it was privacy, and she wasn’t about to back down. Agent Romanoff chuckled.

“You keep your secrets close to your heart,” she inquired. It wasn’t exactly a question, yet Skye still shook her head. “Which is why I can understand why you respect Grant’s secrets, but hear me out.” Turning around, the agent made Skye to stop right in front of the couch. “Don’t trust someone who has secrets, especially if they’re keeping it to themselves.” Skye pressed her lips together.

“I have secrets,” she said as the agent sat down. “Does that mean you don’t trust me?” The agent shrugged.

“No. I don’t know you. But, as far as I’ve heard from Fury, I trust you to make the right decision about Grant.” Scooting forward, the agent grabbed Skye’s hand. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t take care of him. He might be a good guy.” It didn’t miss Skye’s attention that the agent didn’t really believe in those words. “But infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D.? I don’t think we can let that happen.”

“He’s our _only choice_ ,” Skye said slowly, emphasizing the last two words. It wasn’t just their only choice in finding out what HYDRA was up to, but it was also her only chance in finding her parents. She wasn’t about to give it up yet.

The agent looked at her, over and over again, for long enough to make Skye uncomfortable. She started fidgeting.

“Fury offered you something, right?” the agent said finally. Skye abruptly stopped, her mouth almost dropping with surprise. How could she have guessed that?

Skye quickly hid her surprise and put on a blank face, yet she was sure anger was flared in her eyes.

“So what if he did?” she shot back. “That’s between him and I.” The agent chuckled and shook her head before she stood up.

“Well, I wonder how Grant would feel if he knew he was just a bargaining chip for you.” That was the last thing she said before she trotted to the door, leaving the house with only a slight thud as the door closed. Skye couldn’t say anything as she stared at her hands. Her heart was pounding.

No. The agent was wrong. Grant would be a good S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. She would train him as best she could, and then he’d _agree_ to infiltrate HYDRA. She had six months. She could do it. And she wouldn’t be using Grant. Yes, she’d wanted him to infiltrate HYDRA, but she wasn’t forcing it. The only reason she was hiding the secrets from him was because they were too personal, and it was understandable. She didn’t even check Grant’s file, which was what someone else in her place would’ve done. It’d give her the information she needed to know how she could push Grant to do what she wanted. But she didn’t want that. She wanted Grant to open up to her. She was giving him that right.

She was doing everything she could to save Grant, to find her parents and finally have a home. It sure as hell didn’t make her a bad person.

* * *

_“Why_ won’t _you look for my parents?”_ _Skye asked, annoyed, throwing a kick at the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He caught Skye’s kick almost too easily, pushing her back to put her off balance. Yet, instead of stumbling back, Skye rolled over to the side and stood up easily._

_“You’re getting better at your roll-outs,” he said instead of answering her question. Skye scowled._

_“That’s not an answer,” she said as she blocked Fury’s punch. From under his arm, she went to his side and threw another kick, this time hitting the back of the agent’s legs. She was a bit off her target, yet it was a pretty solid kick for someone who’s only been training for four months, and was only eleven years old._

_“That’s the answer I’m giving you,” Fury said as he turned around. “That kick was good, too. But next time, instead of using brute force, kick the strength down a notch and make sure you hit the weakest spot. Skye sighed as she shook her head and signaled time-out._

_“Understood, boss,” she muttered under her breath as she reached for her water bottle and gulped down half of it. “But again, that doesn’t answer my question.” She turned around. “It’s not like I’m asking you to shoot a nuclear bomb to Asia.” Fury glared at her with her words._

_“I have my reasons, Skye,” the director said, obviously done with the conversation. Skye, on the other hand, wasn’t about to let go._

_“Well, then tell me, because honestly it couldn’t be too hard to find two people for the director of a spy organization.”_

_“It’s classified, and you aren’t even an agent yet.” Skye spread her arms, irritated._

_“Why the fuck it’s classified? Are my parents aliens or something?” Skye thought she saw something in Fury’s expression, but it disappeared too quickly that she was sure she was just hallucinating—or being too hopeful._

_“I can’t tell you, Skye. Trust me, it’s in your best interest.”_

_“_ No _,” Skye objected immediately. “You can’t be believing that. I’ve searched all my life for my parents. I deserve to know who they are.”_

_“You do,” Fury agreed, “but that doesn’t mean you can. Look, I know it’s hard for you to understand right now, but when you become an agent you will. When you’re gonna have to hold back the same kind of information from someone else, you’ll understand why I’m doing this.” That was the last thing the director said before he went to the door. “I think it’s enough for today. Don’t forget, dinner’s at seven.” And with that, he was gone._

_Furious, Skye clenched her fists and shook her head. “No. I won’t understand. Ever.”_


	7. Begin Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, so, so sorry this took so long, but for the last two weeks I've been stressing over electives, APs and SATs, so much so that I barely had time to do anything than search them and study. But fortunately, fall break has come (finally) so hopefully I'll be able to post something by then! 
> 
> To make up for posting this too late, I added the last part that I initially thought to put on the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know how this is going. I'd really appreciate your opinions and criticism!

It had been weeks since Agent Romanoff had visited Skye, weeks since Grant came and started living with her, yet it seemed so short and long at the same time. She could remember the first days Grant came; how she forced conversations to get him to open up, how they started training, how she felt like she didn’t know anything about him yet she still didn’t read his file… It felt like only yesterday, yet now if someone had asked her to describe Grant, she could do it without a problem.

That didn’t mean they knew everything about each other. Grant still didn’t like to talk about his past, especially his family, yet Skye could get the notion that they were pretty abusive so she didn’t push. Consequently, she didn’t talk about her connection with S.H.I.E.L.D., and what her mission was. She still thought telling Grant that she needed him to find her parents would only hurt him, and wouldn’t accomplish anything. Besides, she really did care about Grant, it wasn’t just about the mission. She wasn’t about to just destroy what they had built in those weeks.

“Get ready,” Skye said as she flipped another pancake on the pan. Grant was standing right beside her with a plate in his hand that already held two pancakes. Two pancakes Skye threw in the air and Grant caught.

Another one was lying on the floor, though.

Skye couldn’t help smiling as she glanced at Grant before throwing the pancake up to him. The pancake spun in the air once before falling on Grant’s plate, right in the middle of it.

“You’re getting better,” Skye said with a grin. Happiness and pride sparkled in Grant’s eyes.

“Thanks.” With a small sigh, Skye shook her head. It was true that both Grant and she had horrible childhoods, but when it came to training… They were completely different. When Skye first started training with Fury, she didn’t care about it. She was whining all the time, didn’t try to get better, be better, thinking no one would be able to stand her powers. It took Fury asking her if she really wanted to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to get her to take the training seriously. Even at that age, she wanted it badly since it would mean finally she’d belong somewhere. As it turned out, she was talented as well.

Grant? He wasn’t like that. He wasn’t whining when Skye and he ran through the woods for an hour and even more, even when Skye knew his legs should be burning by then. He didn’t complain when Skye punched him in the face, in the guts, kicked him behind his legs when he failed to block her move and she wanted to show him what it would be like in a real fight. He was _eager_ to learn, which of course made Skye’s job so much easier.

“I was thinking of going to the suburbs today,” Skye said finally, looking at Grant to see his reaction. He lifted his eyes bewilderedly.

“The suburbs?” Skye nodded, a smile playing on her lips. “Isn’t it like, I don’t know, two hours by car?”

“Yep, but I’m a fast driver.” By then, Skye couldn’t help grinning at the shocked expression on Grant’s face. She sighed. “Don’t worry, I have my license, and the car isn’t stolen or anything. S.H.I.E.L.D. had provided it when I got sixteen, in case of an emergency.”

“You never told me that.” The distraught look in Grant’s eyes made Skye take a step back, the grin falling off her face. At first she didn’t understand why he would be so bothered by it, it wasn’t like this was the first time she revealed something about herself that she didn’t tell him before, but then she realized. Of course. A car was an opportunity of escape. Not that Skye thought he would escape, but he might be thinking that the reason Skye had hidden that information was because she thought he would escape. She shook her head.

“I’m sorry, I wanted it to be a surprise. It wasn’t because I thought you’d run away with it,” she said sheepishly. “I really don’t think that.” There still were certain subjects Skye didn’t trust him with, yet she trusted him in not running away.

Relief flooded Grant’s face as his smile returned. “Okay. Good. Where… Where are we going?” This time, it was Skye’s turn to get excited. Her eyes lit up as the image of the small restaurant appeared in front of her eyes.

“There was this restaurant Director Fury used to take me when he was here. I haven’t had the chance to go there for months, so I thought it’d be a good place for us to hang out.” The longing was audible in her voice as she closed her eyes, almost feeling the cracking of fire coming from the little fireplace, the smell of wood around her, the cozy cushions of the armchair where she could stay in all day if she only had a blanket around her, a cup of hot chocolate in her hand, and a good book she could get lost in. And the food… For a small and unknown restaurant like that, it had too many food choices and they all tasted phenomenal. Skye’s favorite was BBQ chicken wings. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn’t get the right taste at home.

There were times Fury and she stayed there for hours, talking about everything and nothing, like a normal father and daughter would do. In those moments, she even let herself believe it: That she had a family, and she was normal.

They were the best moments of her life.

She used to never want to share that with anyone, yet somehow as she decided to take Grant to that restaurant, she felt comfortable. Somehow, Grant had become a part of her life, and not just because they spent each day together. She felt close to him somehow. Closer than she’d felt to anyone—not even her best foster parents.

“I’d like that,” Grant said, “but you’re gonna burn the pancake.” Skye had remembered the pancake only when Grant pointed it out. She’d been completely lost in her memories.

“Oh, right. You ready?” Shaking off her thoughts, she smirked at Grant, who already had the plate in his hand, waiting for Skye. She flipped the pancake up again for the last time, and it landed right in the middle of Grant’s plate, right on the three other pancakes.

* * *

“We’re here,” Skye announced, stopping the car. She’d parked the small parking lot right next to the restaurant, and the cozy wooden building stood right in front of her. It looked exactly like she remembered: A classic suburban restaurant in a classic suburban city. The weather was nice and warm, so the windows were open and a couple of people were even sitting on the terrace. Yet still her heart ached to go in and take her usual seat beside the window as she turned to Grant. “So, what do you think?” Grant leaned forward as if to get a better view of the building. A smile slowly spread on his face.

“It’s nice,” he said. “Intimate,” he added a couple of seconds later as if as a second thought. Skye couldn’t help feeling the truth of it as she looked at the only place she ever felt that everything was okay.

“Yeah, it is,” she whispered before unlocking the car doors and got off. Grant followed her immediately. “It’s been so long since I last came here.” She inhaled the scent of dust and sweat around her, which was a lot different than the smell of the trees around her house. They were both beautiful in their own way, but she ached for having people, even strangers, around her since she lived alone most of the time. She even liked sitting in a café alone, quietly listening to the conversations around her, learning all kinds of things about people that doesn’t mean anything to her. She liked it, the complexity of life. In that forest, everything seemed just too…simple.

“Why didn’t you come?” Grant asked as they walked up to the restaurant. She glanced at him, trying to decide how much she should tell about Fury’s mission. They were close, yes, and she trusted him not to say anything, yet if he freaked out and ran away…

“Fury told me Garrett had been taking some personal time off from work for the last couple of months. I had to watch out for him in case he brought someone.” She tried to say is as nonchalantly as possible, yet the strain of her voice was audible.

“Oh,” was Grant’s only answer. Skye bit her lip as she glanced at him, and then softened her voice.

“I’m sorry,” she said, not even knowing what she was apologizing for. “I mean, it’s not your fault or anything. I would’ve stayed there even if it was someone else Garrett brought. I’m glad it was you, though,” she added with a small smile. That made Grant smile as well.

“I’m glad you found me, too. I don’t know… I don’t know if I’d have even survived without it.” Skye scoffed.

“Sure you would’ve,” she said, hoping Grant wouldn’t see through her lie. “Anyway, it’s not the time to talk about those things. We’re here to have fun.” Grant nodded.

“And eat,” he added, making Skye giggle.

“Yes, and that.” She opened the front door of the restaurant, smiling at the little jingle of the bell above. The waiter standing in the counter looked up. He had blond, long hair that always fell on his eyes but he refused to cut, green eyes and high cheekbones that supported his glasses, and a huge smile on his face no matter what. He smiled when he saw Skye. “Hey, Trip.”

“Skye! Long time no see,” Trip said as he leaned forward. “Did your scary agent father locked you in your room again?” Skye laughed as she remembered the last excuse she used when she didn’t come for a couple of months again. She shook her head.

“Not this time.” That was when Trip’s eyes turned to Grant and he raised his eyebrows.

“And who’s this young man? Wait, was that what you were busy with?” A smirk appeared on Trip’s face as he eyed Grant. Skye’s cheeks flushed as she scowled at him.

“Not funny, Trip. And no. This is my friend Grant. I thought it’d be nice to bring him to my favorite restaurant.” The waiter almost seemed disappointed as he turned to Grant.

“Nice to meet you, man.” And then he took two menus before leaving the counter. “Your usual seat?” Skye nodded as they made their way inside the restaurant, Skye and Trip in the front and Grant following them. While Trip brought Skye to the cozy window table, he leaned down to her ear.

“Just saying, Skye, but that guy is hot. You wouldn’t want to miss it.” Skye’s eyes widened as she faced the guy with an open mouth. She didn’t have time to say anything, though as they arrived to the table. Sitting down, she gestured Grant to sit across him and took the menus from Trip.

“I’ll send Callie to take care of you.” Skye smiled at him as he turned to leave.

“Thanks, Trip.” He looked over his shoulder before disappearing, first to Skye and then to Grant, and then he winked at her, which could only mean one thing. She narrowed her eyes, yet Trip was out of her sight by then. She took a deep breath before turning to Grant, who looked confused as he eyed the little restaurant.

“Sorry about that. Trip is an old friend. He’s been working here for as long as I can remember.” Grant lifted his brows.

“ _Just_ a friend?” At first, Skye stared at her with confusion until she realized what she meant. Her eyes widened.

“Oh, you think we’re…” Grant pressed his lips together as he turned away his eyes, playing with his fingers. Skye couldn’t help laughing, so much so that she couldn’t get a word out. Grant scowled at her.

“What? You seemed really close. What’s funny about that?” Skye shook her head as she forced herself to stop and leaned forward.

“Trip is 25, Grant, and he already has a girlfriend. Gemma Simmons or something like that. I’ve never met her, though.” Grant’s cheeks flushed.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Skye was still grinning as she sighed.

“It’s okay. We are close. As I’ve said, I used to come here a lot, and when Director Fury was gone _he_ took care of me. Especially when I was young.” She leaned forward then. “He doesn’t really know I’ve grown up in an orphanage, he thinks Fury adopted me when I was a baby, so please don’t mention it, okay?” It was true, what Skye said, yet a part of her also wanted him to know that even though Trip and her might be close, that didn’t mean she cared more about Trip than Grant. In fact, Trip had never known a big part of her life, S.H.I.E.L.D., while Grant was _in_ that life. One might say that Grant had already known about S.H.I.E.L.D. through Garrett and she had to tell him the truth to get him to infiltrate HYDRA, yet she also never felt compelled to tell Trip about that. As she’s said, they were just friends, nothing more.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Grant promised with a smile, feeling good about himself. Seeing him happy, truly happy, pulled the strings of Skye’s heart and made her smile as well.

The waitress, Callie, came a couple of seconds later and they ordered their food. Skye got her usual order, BBQ chicken wings with diet coke, while Grant opted for a simple cheeseburger menu with water.

The conversation flowed easily. Skye really didn’t know how since they’ve been spending the last couple of weeks together—she expected to be out of things to talk by then—and yet there was never a moment of awkward silence. Instead, the conversation was filled with laughter, jokes, excitement, and she never wanted to stop. She didn’t even realize it had been two hours when their desserts came.

“I used to watch Winx a lot in one of my foster homes,” Skye said when the topic opened about TV shows. Grant lifted her brows.

“What?” Skye sighed.

“Well, they already had a seven-year-old girl, and she watched Winx a lot. When I came, she hated me, so to make her like me I took all of her CDs and watched the first three seasons of Winx from start to finish in like a week. She was pretty pissed off when she found out I stole her CDs, but then she started to like me. I’d even pretended like I liked Miusa even though I didn’t care much about any of them except Bloom and Stella.” She glanced at Grant. “Is that weird?” Chuckling, Grant shook his head.

“No, I think it’s cute. I never watched Winx.” Skye rolled her eyes.

“I wonder why.”

“Though me and Thomas occasionally watched Ben 10 together.” Skye frowned.

“Is that the guy who can turn into creatures with a watch?” Grant smiled.

“Yep, that’s him.” Skye made a sour face.

“And people call Winx fairies ridiculous.” Grant was just about to say something else when a huge explosion sound came from the outside. It took Skye a couple of seconds to realize what was going on: an explosion. It was so powerful and so close that one second they were talking and having fun, and the next Skye felt the window beside her shatter, pieces flying around everywhere. It felt like it was happening in slow motion as she felt every single piece of glass, every single rattle of the lamps above them, every single candle being knocked over, and every single vibration of every single atom around that shook with the explosion. She acted out of instinct. Getting ahold of Grant’s hand, she pulled him down and shield both of them with her powers. Everything bounced off them as Grant shut his eyes, to Skye’s luck. Not that she’d leave Grant vulnerable just to keep her powers secret. She hadn’t even hesitated.

After the explosion stopped and there was a death silence in the restaurant, people had frantically stood up running to the door. Skye dropped the shield and looked at Grant, who was wide-eyed and scared. She took a deep breath. “We need to get out of here,” she said as calmly as possible, even though she felt terrified as fear coursed through her body. Gulping, she stood up and opened the window beside them, not wanting to get in the middle of the wave of people. Letting Grant go out first, she followed him.

She should’ve checked the explosion. That was what a good S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would’ve done. Yet all she could think about was getting Grant out of there. She needed to keep him safe. If she did, everything would be fine. She could just call Fury once they were safely away from the crime scene. She wasn’t about to risk Grant’s life.

That was before they arrived to their car, and she saw someone fly in the air right next to the parking lot. She swallowed back her scream as she froze with the keys dangling from her fingers. Grant couldn’t help gasping.

Skye couldn’t see who had thrown that woman, or the car door after that, yet she knew one thing: It had to be something supernatural. No one could throw something or _someone_ that fast.

It was an alien that was attacking the town. And from the looks of it, it was a pretty strong one.

Skye hesitated. The need to keep Grant safe and the guilt of letting people get hurt when she could stop it with her powers were battling inside her, neither stronger than the other. She bit her lip so harshly that she tasted blood. That was what brought her back. And she knew what she had to do.

“You know how to drive, right?” she asked Grant as she turned to him. Grant nodded slowly with a frown. Taking a deep breath, she quickly took his hand before she changed his mind. “Good. Then go.” Grant looked at the keys in his hand, mouth open, and then faced Skye.

“No. No, absolutely not! I’m not leaving you.”

“You have to,” Skye said as she yanked the keys from his hand, unlocked the door and pushed him in. Grant was caught so off guard that he couldn’t fight her. “I’ll call you when this is over.”

“Wait, no. I’m not leaving you.” Grant insisted, yet by then he’d realized he couldn’t change Skye’s mind. He tried another approach “Or you can come with me,” he begged. “Please. Let’s get out of here. Police are probably dealing with this anyway. Leave it to them. You’re just a young girl.” Skye smiled sadly.

“I’m also a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. And this is what a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would do.” Before Grant could say anything else, she threw the keys on his lap and shut the door. _Go_ , she mouthed as she walked back, and then spun around to run towards the danger.

She was hoping Grant would listen to her.


	8. Done With Love

It was a man. The threat was a _man_.

Or an alien that looked like a man. Or another metahuman HYDRA created. Still, the creature looked like a normal human being—if you didn’t count the absolutely hateful look on his face and the light pole he was swinging around. It hit one of the buildings and sunk into it.

Skye was beginning to think she’d made a mistake standing up to him.

“This is your fault!” the creature suddenly yelled, trying to get the pole out of the building. “Every death here, every injury, the destruction, they’re all your fault Fury!” Skye suddenly halted when she heard that sentence, standing just a little bit in front of the crowd. _Fury_? It couldn’t be true, right? She must’ve heard it wrong.

But no. Of course it would make sense. Fury dealt with aliens all the time. Maybe this one had met him. Maybe they had a quarrel of some sort, maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to lock up the obviously violent alien, and now he was acting out. It wasn’t that unreasonable.

Noting in her mind to ask it to Fury, she stepped forward and lifted her hand. “Stop!” she yelled as strongly as she could, trying to hide the fact that she was scared out of her mind. The alien could crush her any second.

“ _Stop_?” the man roared, and then laughed like even the notion of it was too ridiculous. “Who’s gonna stop me, girl? You?” Skye clenched her teeth.

“You _really_ shouldn’t have said that.” She absolutely hated it when someone underestimated her. Without hesitation, she opened her palm, and shot out a vibration blast with all her power. It was so strong that she felt it deep in her bones, and it made her stumble backwards. Yet she got the effect she wanted. The man literally flew in the air before landing thirty feet away from his initial position. Even the pole was swung away and crashed down on some cars. Skye sort of felt bad for their owners.

“Oh, by the way, yes,” she told the alien as she stepped forward, “I’ll be the one to stop you.” There was dead silence on the street after her words, just a couple of seconds, and then people started talking in whispers behind her. She could only hear some of what they were saying.

“Is he dead?”

“Did she kill him?”

“Who _is_ she?”

A small smile suddenly pulled her lips. Suddenly Skye felt grateful she didn’t run away. This was what she was planning to do when she set out to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent: Use her powers for good just like those superheroes in movies and comic books did. To protect people, to _save_ them. She just hadn’t realized how _good_ it would feel.

The excitement buzzing in her veins died off when the guy stood up. Instead, it was replaced by a rush of adrenaline as she walked up to the guy, her hand in front of her. “I wouldn’t do it if I were you.” The guy didn’t listen to her, though. Instead, he stood up slowly, the rage in his face completely disappeared. He looked disheveled, surprised, and…

Was that _hope_ Skye was seeing in his eyes?

“You’re an Inhuman,” the man said as he stood up. Skye stopped in her place and narrowed her eyes.

“Inhuman? That’s what you call yourself?”

“It’s you, isn’t it? I knew they hid you around here.” The guy didn’t seem to be hearing Skye’s words. Skye’s heart started pounding in her chest. He seemed like he knew Skye, almost in a way _she_ didn’t even know herself. But how was it possible? She didn’t know the guy. She certainly would’ve remembered someone who could swing a light pole like it was a _baseball bat_.

“Who are you?” she asked, trying to ignore his comment like he ignored hers. “How do you know me?”

“I-I know you don’t remember me, you were just a baby when they took you away, but you will, Daisy, you will.” Her heart sunk in her chest suddenly as she heard the guy call her Daisy. She didn’t even know why she felt disappointed. She certainly didn’t want this guy to be related to her. Yet still, if he was, he could point her to her family.

Of course, if only the girl was her.

“My name’s Skye,” she whispered to hide the shakiness in her voice. “And you don’t know me at all.” She directed her attack this time to his legs and broke one of them, hoping super healing wasn’t one of the alien’s powers. Pain twisted the guy’s features as she broke another leg and he howled in pain. “Now you can’t hurt anyone else anymore.” The guy went down, sprawled on the ground, his legs on weird angles. She didn’t use enough force to make him crippled, yet he wouldn’t be able to use his legs for at least two months.

She took out her phone when the guy howled again, pressing on Fury’s name to call him there. He’d know how best to deal with this alien.

* * *

Grant hadn’t even bothered to stop the car as he literally jumped off and wrapped his arms around Skye. She was caught so off guard that she couldn’t do anything at first. She’d disappeared from the street as soon as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent team came with a helicopter, and called Grant to come. She could hear the anxiety in his voice as he asked her if she was okay.

She said yes, because honestly, what else could she say? Physically, she really _was_ okay. The guy hadn’t hurt him one bit. Emotionally, though…

She wasn’t sure how she really was, but she was sure she wouldn’t describe it as “okay.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Grant whispered to her hair as she stood there, shutting her eyes to keep the tears away. Her heart was stuttering in her chest as she felt her arms wrap around Grant, holding him tightly. She was trying to hold it together, to not cry in front of her friend, but it wasn’t working. It wasn’t just about that day. She’d been trying to hold everything together, hold her emotions in for a really long time. She never knew she needed someone to hold her together for once. Not until the young boy hugged her. Not until she had someone to hug her.

“Yeah,” she whispered quietly as Grant pulled back, still holding her shoulders and looked her over, as if to make sure she really didn’t have any wounds. “I’m not hurt, Grant.” Relief was evident in his face as Skye quickly wiped away her tears to hide them from Grant. Yet she was only a second too late.

“You’re crying,” he said matter-of-factly before his lips tightened in a thin line. “He did something to you, right?” Skye was too tired to even bother lying to him as she sighed.

“Nothing physical. I’ll… I’ll tell you.” She reached for the driver’s seat when Grant stopped her.

“Skye,” he said as he grabbed her arm. She turned to the boy, her brows curled up in a frown with surprise. “Let me drive.” It took Skye only one moment to nod. If she drove in the current situation she was in, with tears blurring her vision and her hands shaking, she certainly would’ve wrapped the car around a tree and even her powers couldn’t stop them from getting hurt. Or worse, dead.

Grant didn’t lose time as he started driving. “You have to tell me the way,” he told Skye. She nodded absentmindedly as she told him to stay on the main road for at least an hour. After she finished her words, silence engulfed the car, only being interrupted by the car’s movement on the road and Skye’s occasional sniffs. She couldn’t stop her tears from coming as she leaned her head against the window.

“What did he tell you?” Grant asked softly after some time. His tone wasn’t forceful or demanding, it was only gentle and caring in a way Skye imagined a therapist might use to his or her patients. She gulped, staring at her hands.

“He was looking for someone,” she managed to blurt out finally, in such a quiet voice that she doubted Grant heard.

“What?”

“He was looking for someone,” she said louder this time, lifting her chin to face the young man next to him. “I’m guessing it was his child? He said they—whoever _they_ are—took her away from him when she was a baby.” She stopped for a second, suddenly remembering what the alien said before Skye shot him with the first blast. He’d accused Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., of something. Maybe that _they_ were S.H.I.E.L.D. “I think it might be S.H.I.E.L.D. He mentioned Fury as well.” Grant’s brows knitted.

“Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. steal a baby?” Skye sighed and shook her head.

“I don’t know. But they wouldn’t unless that baby was in danger—or she was a threat to others.” _Or it wasn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. that took her, it was HYDRA_. She shivered with that thought and completely discarded it as the worst case possible. “I’ll ask Fury. He came to take the alien. Maybe he might learn more from him.” One side of Grant’s lips tipped up as he suddenly reached for Skye’s hand and grabbed it.

“You kept the alien from hurting people, Skye.” Skye shrugged. It had been pretty easy actually once the guy was distracted with this Daisy person.

“I did what any good agent would do.”

“Still, it was pretty brave. Stupid, but also brave.” That brought at least a small smile on Skye’s face. “You were a hero today.”

“I don’t really feel like one,” she admitted, running her fingers through her hair. “The guy was just looking for her daughter that he’d lost _years_ ago. He thought _I_ was Daisy. I mean, her, which means she must be lost for at least thirteen years.” Grant’s knuckles were white as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

“I wouldn’t mind it if someone stole me from my family.” Skye almost snorted, but then she stopped herself. Yes, she wanted to have a family badly, but she also knew an abusive family might be even worse than not having a family at all. And as far as Grant let her now, his family was pretty abusive.

No wonder he’d immediately chosen to go with Garrett when he was given a choice.

“I know where you’re coming from, but I… I’ve never met my real parents, and none of my foster parents ever accepted me. And that man… He was crazy, yes, and violent, but he was so determined to reunite with his daughter. I just… I guess I would like someone to fight that much for me too.” She wiped away her tears as she dropped her chin. She could feel Grant’s eyes on her.

“I understand,” he said finally as he squeezed Skye’s hand. “When I was young I dreamt for someone to come and rescue me from home as well. You know, just like they did with abused children in the movies. But it never happened.” Skye gulped painfully. Yes, maybe it wasn’t the same situation, but it was close enough. Skye wanted her biological family, while Grant desperately needed a new one. “But Skye, how would you feel if you found out your father was wreaking havoc to find you? Hurting people? Killing them?” Skye opened her mouth to say that of course she wouldn’t want it, yet she found that the words didn’t leave her mouth. If she was to be completely honest with herself, she didn’t really know.

“I don’t know,” she answered finally as she stared out of the window, looking at the trees passing by. “Maybe I _would_ want that.”

* * *

“Is it him?” Agent Coulson asked, stepping next to his Director. They were standing next to the hospital room, looking at the drugged alien lying down on the bed, both of his legs bandaged. Fury was surprised at first when he found out Skye had broken his legs, yet he wasn’t surprised. He was the one that told her to not hold back after all. And this was a superpowered person they were talking about.

“Yes, I think so,” was Fury’s answer. His voice was matter-of-factly, yet his shoulders were taut. They almost failed today. Skye almost found out who she really was, and who her parents were.

She almost found out she was an Inhuman.

Fury couldn’t let that happen. He chose to hide it from her when he first found out. He wasn’t about to give up now.

“What are we gonna do now?” With Coulson’s question, Fury sighed. “Are we going to tell Skye…”

“No,” was Fury’s immediate answer. His tone suggested he didn’t want any objection. “For now, this will stay between us, and _only_ us.”


	9. Wicked Game

There was death and destruction all around her. She was lying on the ground, staring at the sky. _It’s nighttime_ , she thought. _So why is the sky red?_

She didn’t get any answers as she couldn’t move. All she could do was stare at the sky, the red sky that looked like it was crying blood and fire. Flames licked her shoulders from all sides, duss covered her nose and eyes, so much so that she could neither breathe nor see. She screamed, she cried, but her voice was lost in the middle of all the shouting and screaming coming from around her.

_Skye_ , someone whispered. It was a man’s voice, so familiar, that it stopped her crying. She tried to blink to see who it was, but her eyes weren’t working, and she was so weak and so tired. Was she really seeing the white light in the sky, or was it death beckoning her? She tried to lift her hand, to reach the light, but the flames didn’t let her. That was when she heard the voice again, this time stronger.

“Skye, wake up.” There was an unfamiliar weight on her shoulder as she blinked, everything around her getting swallowed by darkness. She didn’t have anything to hold onto. Flames were hurting her hands, her arms, burning them as she tried to grab the ground, the sky, the hand of the man calling for her, but she couldn’t. Darkness swallowed as she thought it must be the end.

She shot up from the couch as someone shook her again. Her palm opened, ready to use her power if that person was an intruder. She stopped short when she realized it was only Grant. The young boy was looking at her with anxious eyes.

“God, it’s only you,” she sighed, relaxing her shoulders. She realized Grant was still holding onto her, one of his hands on her shoulder and the other on her hand.

“Skye, are you okay?” he asked tentatively, as if he didn’t want to scare her. Skye wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.

“Yeah, yes. What happened?”

“You were having a nightmare.” Grant had a puzzled expression as he eyes Skye. “You fell asleep on the couch two hours ago and I didn’t want to wake you up. After what happened in the town…” He shuddered at the thought.

“What time is it?” Skye asked with a frown, swinging her legs down the couch.

“A little bit past seven.” He sat on the couch next to him. “If you don’t mind me asking… What were you dreaming about?” Skye fixed her eyes to her hand that Grant was holding. She absentmindedly realized he hadn’t let it go; in fact, he was holding it tighter than ever. She nibbled her lower lip as she took a deep breath.

“I’m not sure,” she whispered. “I guess… I guess there was destruction, and I was lying on the ground, staring at the sky. But I couldn’t move. I knew there was blood, and a fire I guess, but that’s all I know. I wanted to look. I just…couldn’t.” She gulped. “I woke up as the flames around me engulfed me.” Dropping her eyes to the floor, she shook her head. “It’s nothing, though. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I do,” Grant said, surprising her. “Skye, you just fought against a superpowered person. It’s not like it’s something you can forget easily.” Skye was just about to tell him it wasn’t the first time she hurt someone, but she stopped. Grant didn’t know about that, and she so wasn’t ready to tell him. Not after the day she’d had.

“I know, I know. But I’ll be okay. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but I’ll be.” She sure hoped that was true as she stood up. “So, what do you want for dinner?”

“Actually,” Grant started, standing up after her, “I already made the dinner.” Skye stopped dead in her place as she spun around to face the boy.

“ _You_ made the dinner?” Grant crossed his arms defensively.

“Hey, I’m not _that_ bad.” Skye lifted her brows, waited for Grant to give in. It only took him a couple of seconds. “Okay, I might’ve almost burned the kitchen twice before, but I didn’t.” Skye laughed and shook her head sideways as she went to kitchen.

“Okay, I’m not saying anything until I taste it.” They went to the kitchen together, and Skye found out that the dinner Grant prepared was nothing other than spaghetti. She almost wanted to laugh.

“Wow, you’re such a good cook,” she joked as she giggled. Grant hit her shoulder.

“Shut up and be glad that you didn’t have to cook today.” Skye rolled her eyes, but there was still a smile on her face as they took a plate of spaghetti each and went to the kitchen table to eat.

“Did you have time to talk to Fury before I came?” Grant asked. He obviously was curious about what exactly had happened back on that street.

“No,” Skye said as she looked up at him. “But I’m gonna call him tonight. I have to know what happened to the alien and…and his daughter. Daisy.” She bit her lip. “And before you say I should probably let it go, I just… I have to know. I have to know if Daisy is okay.”

“I wasn’t going to say that,” Grant whispered as he reached for Skye’s hand, holding it tightly. “There’s nothing wrong with worrying about other people, even strangers, and wanting Daisy to be okay. What had been done to you in your childhood was extremely wrong and unfair. It’s understandable that you’d want to know what happened to someone else with a similar experience.” Skye was speechless as she looked at Grant. She knew she should say something, but what could someone say to those words anyway? No matter what happened between Grant and Skye in the last few weeks they knew each other, Grant was always so understanding with her. He never questioned her, never pushed her to say or do anything, never even tried to learn her secrets when Skye was sure he knew she was lying. Whether he assumed she must’ve had her reasons or he was also afraid to have his secrets revealed, it made no matter, he was still the most understanding person she’d ever met.

And she’d been too harsh on him. She didn’t trust him with something that could be a life-or-death situation for him. She needed him to infiltrate HYDRA, yet she was too afraid to tell him that. She had reasons to hide why she wanted it, since finding her family was such a personal issue for her, and her powers were her business, yet whatever reason she had for hiding HYDRA from him wasn’t good enough. He needed to know, even though it’d make him run away. He’d definitely have that right if that was what would happen.

“There’s something you need to know, Grant,” she whispered, her voice faltering towards the end. She could feel Grant frowning even though her eyes were locked on the table.

“Is it about that alien creature?” Skye shook her head, taking a deep breath. Still, it felt like words were stuck in her throat. She had to force them out as she looked up.

“It’s about HYDRA.” Grant’s face paled considerably at the mention of the organization. He straightened up, putting his fork on the table and took a deep breath, as if he was trying to pull himself together.

“What do they have to do with anything?” _They have to do with everything_ , Skye wanted to say. _They’re inside S.H.I.E.L.D., manipulating our lives every single day. They make you doubt everyone you know, even more those who you think you know well. They want to either destroy or kill gifted people like me. They want to take over the world. They’re my ticket to find my birth parents_. But of course she couldn’t say any of that. This wasn’t a simple movie or a TV show where at the end you knew everything would work out. You knew the evil would be defeated, the heroes would rise, and the world would be better than it used to be. This was real life, and in real life heroes didn’t swoop in to save the day. They rarely existed, and even if they did there was only a small number of people they could help. Villains did exist, though. They were everywhere. Some were in prison, but it was still a small percentage of them. People died every day, raped, murdered, manipulated, broken, left alone, pushed around every single day by people that claimed to be doing the wrong things for the right reasons. And when the reasons were just, nobody really took a look at the actions.

In this world, nothing was ever simple, which meant if Skye was completely honest with Grant, there was more chance of him walking out on her—like everyone had done all her life—than him staying back and telling her they’d bear it together. Nobody would stay.

So she chose her words carefully as she answered Grant’s question.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. needs… We need someone inside HYDRA, like an inside man, to give us information. We barely know what they are up to, and Fury can’t go up and start a full on investigation when investigators could easily be as corrupted as suspects. He doesn’t trust anyone…for good reasons. But if he had an inside man…” Skye bit her lip, clenching her fists on her lap. She couldn’t continue. She was too afraid that Grand would stand up and walk out that she was afraid to see his expression.

“You want me to be the inside man,” Grant whispered, not as a question but matter-of-factly. Skye could only nod. Silence stretched for a couple of seconds, almost too long for her to handle, when he continued. “For how long?”

“Ever since I first told Fury that Garrett was recruiting young boys and leaving them in the forest for them to become HYDRA agents,” Skye said honestly. “It wasn’t… It wasn’t just about you. I told you that you weren’t the only one Garrett brought. I was gonna try with others too, but they ran away before I could even make sure if they could be good fits, or that I could trust them.” She gulped as she reached for Grant’s hand, hoping for him to look at her. “I still would’ve rescued you from him, even if we didn’t need you to infiltrate HYDRA. And you still don’t have to. You can say no, I wouldn’t kick you out. I’m just telling you this so that you can choose when the time comes. It doesn’t have to be right now, I know it’s a hard decision.” She took a deep breath, hoping how desperately she wanted him to accept it wasn’t written all over her face.

“I…I don’t know what to say.” Grant was still not looking at her, though he hadn’t pushed her hand away either. That was at least a good sign. “I need to think about it. I know I said I wanted to train, but this is…

“Yeah, I understand,” Skye said as she pulled her hand back. She couldn’t help feeling disappointed. “Take your time. And if you need to talk, I’ll be here.” Grant nodded before he stood up, walking to his room and shutting the door behind him. Skye couldn’t help feeling that everything they worked through together in the last few weeks, the relationship they built, was destroyed with a couple of sentences and lies. And it wasn’t even the whole of it.

She wondered if it would be possible to mend their relationship once Grant knew everything. She would tell him eventually, of course, piece by piece. But with every piece she told him, it would be like breaking a piece of glass from a cup. Gluing it back would only work up to some point until the glass became too broken and useless…

And got thrown away to never be seen again.

* * *

Fury opened the door of the hospital room slowly, entering with his chin high and shoulders straight. He looked the Inhuman lying on the bed in front of him with a cold and stern expression, making sure he didn’t budge. The guy had powers, which meant that he wouldn’t be afraid so easily as someone else would. And Fury needed the man to fear him.

“Where’s Daisy?” the Inhuman said as soon as he saw Fury. “What did you do to my daughter?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Fury said with an emotionless tone. “After your little…destruction in that village, and she broke your legs, we brought her back to a safe place.” The Inhuman clenched his teeth as he tried to straighten up, but it was impossible with his broken legs and casts around them.

“A safe place? From what, her father?!” he yelled. “She would be safer with me than anywhere else!”

“Skye can protect herself.” Fury’s words were filled with confidence in his young rookie as he sat down next to the bed. “Besides, I’m not talking about physical protection. How do you think Skye would feel if she found out her father was a serial killer?” Rage twisted the man’s expression, showing the signs of the super strength he had. Fury kept his face blank even though he feared the guy might jump out of the bed despite his legs.

“And who’s fault is that?” he barked, struggling with the cuffs binding him to the bed. “You made me a killer, Fury! You did it when S.H.I.E.L.D. stole my wife and daughter away from me! You think I would’ve killed all those people in the village if I wasn’t trying to find them?” Fury’s heart sank with the guy’s words. He couldn’t be telling the truth, right? Fury knew about the massacre, and he knew Skye’s father was the one that caused it, yet he assumed the guy was already crazy and his wife was actually trying to get Skye to safety when she, too, had been murdered. There wasn’t much evidence to go from, so that was as far as Fury had gotten, most of them with assumptions rather than solid proof.

“What are you talking about?”

“You stole them away from me!” the guy roared again, insanity visible in his face. “You’re responsible for it. All of it!” All Fury could do was to call the doctors to give him a sedative as he stepped back, the screams still ringing in his ears. He realized it wasn’t all about rage or anger, it wasn’t all about insanity. There was a hint of desperation and grief in them, a long-felt pain and loss hiding behind the surface.

Whatever he thought about the village massacre, he realized, was wrong. It was never the Inhuman that went crazy on his own. It was someone else, something else that drove him crazy by stealing two most precious things from him.

And Fury feared he knew what that something was.


	10. High Hopes

Skye straightened up her clothes as she looked in the mirror, trying to decide if she should let her hair loose or tie it. She had a black leather jacket on with a black tight sweater underneath it, completed with black leggings and black combat boots. Fury used to say, when she dressed all in black, that she looked like a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, hiding in the shadows and protecting the earth from there. It used to make her smile.

Only it was five years ago, and a lot had changed since then. She saw Fury once a week, at best, and they never had the chance to have a normal, father-daughter conversation. It was all professional, S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA related, nothing…nothing like any normal family would deal with. It hurt, yes, but she also knew she could’ve had it worse—she _had_ had it worse before Fury had found her—so she didn’t complain. She was content with Her life.

After deciding to tie her hair in a ponytail in case she needed to engage in a fight—you never knew—she went into the living room, looking for her phone. That was when she realized Grant was standing right in front of the room. Her mouth dropped in surprise when she looked at the time. It was past 1 a.m. Skye hadn’t really expected him to leave his room, not after she’d waited for seven hours for him to come out, making coffee, and then hot chocolate, and then coffee again; baking chocolate chip cookies when she felt too stressed out, and trying to read her book until she gave up since she really couldn’t focus. Television didn’t work better. At the end, she’d just gone to her room to get ready for her meeting with Fury, assuming Grant had gone to sleep.

He hadn’t. He was standing right in front of her. Skye’s steps faltered as she straightened up, surprise written on her face. “Grant,” she almost shrieked in a too thin voice. “I thought you’d gone to sleep.”

“I wasn’t,” Grant said, his arms crossed, and then changed the subject almost immediately. “I want to come with you.”

“What? No.” The words left Skye’s mouth before she could stop them. Her heart was stuttering in her chest when she imagined Grant there as she used her powers. The thoughts filled her mind, of Grant leaving, of him hating her, yelling at her, abandoning her, telling her how she was just a liar and a coward and she didn’t deserve anything, how he wished he would’ve stayed with Garrett…

She couldn’t take it. She couldn’t take the hate of yet another person she cared about deeply, let alone Grant Ward. Whether she liked to admit or not, he meant to her more than just a means to get her parents, or even acquaintances or friends. Somehow, somewhere along the way, she started to care about him more than she should, and if he abandoned her, she wouldn’t only lose the chance to find her parents, she would also lose the person she cared about the most on the face of this earth. More than Fury, more than her former adoptive parents, more than anyone she’d ever met. She didn’t even feel ready to risk losing him.

“You can’t keep me away from this,” Grant objected, stepping in front of Skye when she attempted to walk by him. “It’s about me now as much as it’s about you.”

“No, it’s not,” Skye shot back, turning her glare at him. She made sure her eyes looked as icy as possible as she continued. “This is about Daisy and that alien, or Inhuman or whatever, I fought. This has nothing to do with HYDRA.”

“It has everything to do with it!” Grant yelled, spreading his arms. “You can’t expect me to just agree to infiltrate HYDRA when I don’t know shit about them or S.H.I.E.L.D. Like it or not, I’m a part of the organization as well.” Skye clenched her teeth, not being able to find a reasonable argument to keep him here. Deep down, she knew he was right. He did deserve to know about S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA, maybe even more than she deserved it. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

“Okay, fine. Make sure you dress darkly,” she ordered with an authoritative voice. A part of her felt guilty that she was being too harsh to him as she watched her go back to his bedroom, but… But she had to be harsh. This wasn’t about friendship or fun, this was her mission now. They could have fun in the daytime, they could even have fun training, joke around, cook together, watch movies, have walks, but when it came to work they were partners, not friends. They had to be partners, because her work was dangerous and secret, she couldn’t let him pry around. Wasn’t that why she hadn’t read his file? Because it would be prying around in his life?

Grant left the room soon enough, wearing a black cardigan and black sweatpants, his hands tucked in his pockets. He looked up at Skye almost emotionlessly.

“I’m ready,” he said, and they left the house with a nod.

Normally, when Skye was alone she never walked to their meeting spot with Fury. She couldn’t let anyone discover her path and follow it to her house, so she used trees to get around, which wasn’t too hard with her powers. However, it would’ve been utterly impossible without them, so she’d immediately discarded that idea when she looked up. They had to walk, they had no choice.

Of course, one thing Skye hadn’t thought about was the silence. Not that they spoke every second they spent together, but normally the silences hadn’t been this…uncomfortable. Skye felt taut and nervous as she nibbled with her lip, only glancing at Grant. She was telling herself she had to stay silent; even though her powers told her there wasn’t anyone around, one could never be so sure.

Still, she found herself saying, “Grant,” when silence, once something that soothed her, became unbearable. Grant didn’t turn to her, though, kept his eyes in the front, but his clenched teeth and fists gave him away. “Are you not gonna talk to me?”

“So that you can hide something else from me?” Grant snapped, glaring at Skye. Rage was burning in his gaze. “I always knew there were things you kept to yourself, but I didn’t want to push you because I knew how it was like to have a horrible childhood, and I didn’t share everything that had happened to me. But what I kept for myself didn’t have anything to do with _you_.” Skye’s shoulders slumped as guilt twisted her stomach. _I should’ve told him_ , she thought. _I’d been afraid of losing him, but now I’ve made it even worse_.

“I know,” she managed to mutter. “I’ve made a huge mistake, and I’m so sorry about that. I should’ve told you about HYDRA at least.” Taking a deep breath, she blinked her unwanted tears away. “But I was scared that if you knew, you’d run away.” Grant seemed surprised as he frowned.

“Run away?” Skye laughed humorlessly and shook her head.

“You wouldn’t want to have anything to do with HYDRA, or put yourself in danger. And I…didn’t want to lose you.” The confession came hard to her as she looked around nervously, her powers scouring the forest for another sign of life. There was none. Grant didn’t say anything for a long enough time to make Skye’s stomach churn. “Please say something.”

“Why did you think I’d run away?” Grant said softly, his anger diminishing from his voice.

“Because it was dangerous, and not easy. Because you’d just escaped form your abusive family and you might’ve only wanted a normal life. Because I was so scared that you’d leave and I’d be alone again that I…assumed the worst.” Skye couldn’t face Grant as she stared at her feet, fearfully waiting for his answer. Even after admitting all those things, guilt and lies still burned his stomach, clawing her from inside. There was still one thing, one very important thing she hadn’t told him: _Because I needed you to infiltrate HYDRA to get my family back, and I couldn’t risk you just running away_. She wanted to say it, she knew she had to say it if she didn’t want to lose Grant completely when the secret came out, yet the words were stuck in her throat and weren’t leaving.

“I’m not leaving you,” Grant said at the end, reaching for Skye’s hand and softly grabbing it. “I’m staying, okay? Even if I won’t choose to infiltrate HYDRA, this is the only place I ever felt…happy. Only place that I felt welcomed. Your side.” Skye blinked with surprise as she lifted her head, halting to a stop. She searched Grant’s eyes for a sign of lie or hesitation, but there was none. There was only sincerity, gratitude and…and love. Not in the relationship sense, or at least Skye didn’t believe that it was, yet Grant cared about her. It was plainly out there, he wasn’t trying to hide it.

Her eyes fell on his lips, pulled around the tips with a smile, and her heartbeat suddenly doubled, blood rushing to her cheeks. A sudden urge to just lean forward and kiss him filled her body. She couldn’t pull back, she didn’t want to pull back. She wanted to kiss him, to bury herself in him, to remind herself that even after learning about part of her lie he was here, staying by her side.

Maybe their relationship didn’t need to end up in ruins. Maybe, like he did now, Grant would forgive her in the end.

She was just about to reach up when she sensed someone’s presence not too far away from them. Blinking, she stepped back to put some distance between them and to get together her thoughts.

What did she think she was doing? Kissing Grant? She couldn’t do that, not when there were secrets still hanging between them. She didn’t deserve to kiss him or be with him when she couldn’t be completely honest with him. And being okay after Grant learned everything? It was impossible. They would never be okay, and that was a fact she would have to face eventually. She couldn’t just give into her emotions.

Turning her eyes away, she realized they were in the opening, and it was Fury that she felt. Clearing her throat, she gestured at the opening.

“We’re here.” Grant blinked as well, staring at his now empty hand, disappointment seeping into his eyes. However, he so quickly put on a serious face that Skye might’ve just imagined it.

They walked out to the opening together, leaves crushing under Grant’s feet as Skye stayed as quiet as possible, noting to herself to teach Grant how to walk more silently, when Fury turned to them, gun in his hand. Skye halted, at first with surprise, but then understanding filled her eyes.

Of course. Fury wasn’t expecting her to just walk out there. Normally, she jumped down a tree or something, and definitely way quieter than how Grant was walking. She lifted her hands immediately.

“Sir, it’s me,” she said so that he knew who she was. Fury lifted his brows as he dropped his gun.

“Skye,” he said bewilderedly, looking at the young man next to her. His eyes then turned to her with questions in them, as if asking why had she brought Grant and how much he knew. Skye took a deep breath.

“I brought Grant with me. He…knows about HYDRA.” _But nothing else. Not about my powers, not about my parents, not about how much I actually need him_ , she thought, hoping it was reflected in her eyes. Fury was smart though, he wouldn’t just blurt out about anything other than HYDRA until he was sure Grant knew it.

“So that was what all this noise was about.” His eyes turned to the young man, his shoulders relaxing as he smiled. “You gotta learn how to walk more quietly. I was aware of your presence even before you stepped out.” Even in the dark, Skye could see Grant blushing as he nodded.

“Yes, sir. I will…sir.” Grant’s voice trailed off as he anxiously glanced at Skye, begging for help. Despite everything that happened just a couple of minutes ago, Skye found herself smiling at his desperate expression as she turned to Fury.

“So, um, sir, this is Grant. And Grant, this is Director Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s…director.” She smiled sheepishly at both of the guys as Fury extended his hand to Grant.

“Nice to meet you, young man. Skye said good things about you.” Skye lifted her brows as she and Fury barely had time to discuss Grant’s current situation, but the praise seemed to please Grant, as well as surprise him, so she let it go.

“Thank you,” Grant said with an illuminating smile, his eyes just as bright. Skye nodded in approval as he glanced at her, before focusing on Fury. She took a deep breath.

“I came to ask you about—“

“The creature from the town, I know,” Fury said, dropping his chin. “I’m sure you have some questions.” Skye did have a number of questions, but she didn’t know where to start as she looked at her mentor. Maybe a good S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would’ve asked what had happened to the alien, whether he was in prison or not and whether he’d confessed anything. But the question that left Skye’s lips was completely different.

“Did you learn anything about Daisy, his supposed daughter?” Something flashed through Fury’s face for less than a second, an irritation and some sort of fear, but it passed too quickly before Skye could think about that it was about. Instead, disappointment filled his face as he shook his head.

“No, unfortunately. We barely managed to get a sensible word out of him. After what you did to his…legs, he was in too much pain.” Skye’s shoulders slumped with guilt and disappointment. She desperately wanted to know what had happened to Daisy, who’d taken her as a child, and whether she’d found a good home. Skye had wanted that for her.

“What you did to his legs?” Grant asked, looking at Skye with puzzled expression. Skye’s face went pale as she faced him, struggling to find an answer. It seemed like “I broke them with my vibration blasts” wouldn’t be a good choice.

Luckily, Fury hadn’t froze as she had, since he’d been doing this for a lot longer time than Skye.

“She managed to get him off balance and he’d dropped the light pole in his hand on his legs. They were broken when we found him.” Grant’s brows crept up to his forehead with Fury’s answer. Skye bit her lip anxiously.

“I was just trying to keep him from hurting civilians.” She was afraid Grant would judge him for what she did, but he only grabbed his arm and squeezed it.

“And you did a good job.” He was smiling at Skye as she turned to him, surprised that he was okay with what she did. However, his eyes told a truth both of them had to learn at a young age: Not everything on earth could be solved through goodness. Sometimes, bad things had to be done in order to achieve a greater goal.

“That’s true, Skye. You saved the lives of many people back there. That’s why I’m letting the stupidity of your actions slide.” Fury’s eyes told her the stupidity wasn’t just about facing the man, since because of her powers the man was her equal, but using her powers in such a public way. She nodded.

“I’ll be more careful,” she promised, both to Fury and Grant for two different reasons.

“Good.” The Director turned to Grant again, changing the subject. “I expect the same from you too, young gentleman. Infiltrating HYDRA shouldn’t be taken lightly, one sloppy step could throw you down a cliff. You need to be very careful.” Grant had nodded in agreement as he squeezed Skye’s hand for support. She returned his squeeze.

“I’ll let you know if I learn something else,” Fury promised before turning around and leaving, without even saying a goodbye or hugging Skye. She’d expected that, she’d even gotten used to it. Getting sentimental about work wouldn’t help anyone.

Grant and Skye left shortly after, walking in silence again, both of them lost in their thoughts. Skye broke it a couple of minutes later.

“I’m pretty sure you won’t want to infiltrate HYDRA after what you’ve heard,” she teased him, but there was a strain in her voice despite the fact that she’d tried so hard to sound normal. Grant tucked his hands in his pockets as he turned to Skye, and shook his head. There was a smile on his face.

“Actually, on the contrary, I want to infiltrate HYDRA. Or at least try.” That caught Skye off guard as she stopped, facing Grant to make sure he wasn’t joking.

“Seriously?” she asked, which earned a chuckle from the young man before his face turned serious.

“Yes, Skye. After what you did in the town, risking your life for strangers… That’s the least I can do for all the victims of HYDRA. I’ll do it.” Skye blinked before the corners of her lips tipped up.

“Good,” she whispered, feeling relieved that Grant wouldn’t back out. They’d basically made through the first two steps, with Grant finding out about HYDRA and deciding to go through with her and Fury’s plan, and now the next step was to make sure he succeeded. And then she could finally learn something about her birth parents.

Yet still, no matter how excited that notion made her, a part of her was terrified for the young man, so much so that she didn’t know if she’d be able to let him go infiltrate HYDRA when the time came in fear of losing him.


	11. Holding On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say you guys that when I first started Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it was just the kind of show I loved: quirky with a little bit of science and a little bit of action, funny and honest characters coupled with two amazing love&friendship stories: Fitzsimmons and Skyeward. I enjoyed the show so much that even before I came to the midseason finale of the first season, I was reading Skyeward fanfics whenever I could find them. And to this day, I still don't understand how I didn't see anywhere that Grant became a traitor for HYDRA. 
> 
> To this day, I still can't believe that. When I watched 1x17, I thought it must be a nightmare, that I just dreamt all of that, or that it had an explanation. To the end of S1 I waited for that explanation and got absolutely nothing. And then I watched S2, hoping for a redemption storyline, expect what I found was a bunch of poorly written, OOC characters. I can't explain it now since it's been some time I even watched the show, but every character; Skye, Coulson, Fitzsimmons, May, Ward; felt fake to me. They didn't remind me of anything they were at S1, and the thing I loved so dearly in the show, relationships between the characters, was lost. I hated it, which was why I dropped it at the midseason finale, just not being able to watch it again.
> 
> That was when I thought about what would it be like if Garrett never found Grant, if it was someone else that found her. Initially it was a character I created in my mind, but then I thought why not make a story out of it and put some Skyeward in it, trying to reflect what I found in S1 of the show. That is why going along, I'm making up a bunch of stuff, including Skye's powers and family (though I researched a bit about them), her past, and everything else. I hope that you like this version of the events, very different from the show, but I hope it's better because honestly the show had become nothing more than flat characters, meaningless action and unnecessary plot twists for me. 
> 
> I hope you're enjoying this, because this story means a lot to me since I felt betrayed about how the characters were represented in the show. I hope that you find something that the show lost in the story, and I hope that the betrayal of the producers stings less, because this story kept me calm when I was enraged about the show, and brought the hope I lost in the show.
> 
> Sorry for the long notes, but I had to get it off my chest, and to anyone that read it and is reading this story, thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means to me, especially for this story. You're amazing.

Fury was trying to look as calm and collected as possible as he sat, once again, next to the Inhuman—who was still not released from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s hospital—despite how stressed he actually was. No matter how much he tried to tell himself this was just like a regular interrogation, a voice in his head just didn’t stop nagging him and reminding him that the man was Skye’s father. He doubted he’d be able to let that go.

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” the Inhuman spat out before Fury even managed to think of something to say. His eyes were full of rage, crushing Fury’s doubts about whether the man would escape or not if he could: He seemed as if he didn’t want to spend another minute in the hospital. The director felt slightly guilty for being grateful that his legs were broken. _Both of them_.

“What made you think we’d come back? For all you knew, we could just throw you in the Fridge.” The Inhuman laughed hysterically, as if the notion was ridiculous. He shook his head.

“No, you wouldn’t. Skye means too much to you for that, and you still wonder who she truly is.” Fury’s heart clenched with those words, but he managed to keep his face blank. He knew how much Skye wanted to find out about her past and her parents, but he’d promised himself not to delve into the subject when he found out Skye was the reason of a village massacre. He didn’t want Skye to bear the burden of those deaths she actually wasn’t guilty of, but most of all he was afraid _what_ Skye was that someone would destroy a whole village to get to her. He’d stopped looking because he was afraid of what he’d find, and _he_ didn’t want to bear the burden of the knowledge.

“And I’ll trust what you’re gonna say?” Fury scoffed. “An Inhuman who has probably gone mad and started hallucinating things?” Even as he said the words, he knew well inside that every one of them were wrong. The Inhuman wasn’t hallucinating, or making everything up. He was telling the truth. No matter how much Fury might want all of it to be a lie, it fit into what he knew about the subject too perfectly to be one.

“You already do trust me.” Fury felt like the Inhuman would shoot fire from his eyes if he could as his gaze turned to him. “And I’m not mad. That woman out there, the one you call Skye, she’s my daughter. She’s my Daisy, and you don’t have the right to keep her away!” He’d raised his voice during the course of his words, so much so that by the end he was screaming, pulling at his cuffs and the bed. Even in the situation he was in, he’d managed to shake the bed.

“You don’t know anything about her,” Fury argued in a much calmer voice, despite his pounding heart and almost dry mouth.

“I don’t know anything about her?” The Inhuman burst into laughter, shaking his head. “You’re the one that doesn’t know anything about her. Her name, her parents’ name, her hometown, how she’d gotten her powers…” That caught Fury’s attention as he lifted his head. He always had assumed Skye’s power came from birth, but…

“How she’d gotten her powers?” The man blinked once, and then twice, before laughing again.

“You really don’t know, right?” Fury had no answer to the question. “That’s just amazing. You didn’t even look for it. You were afraid of what her past was that you didn’t check, because someone like you would surely have found out about Inhumans and terrigenesis if he looked.”

“Is that what Skye is? An Inhuman?” The director was keeping his voice blank and devoid of emotions, especially trying to keep fear and curiosity away. He wanted to learn about Skye, he wanted to learn where she came from, but that didn’t mean he had to let this Inhuman know that and gain power over him.

“She’s the daughter of two Inhumans, what did you think?” Snorting, the guy turned away. “Though the power part, you can blame yourself for that. You are the only reason my wife was forced to put her through terrigenesis before she was even a year old. She had to risk that so that if she was ever captured, she’d have a means to protect herself and possibly run away. Though I see she couldn’t get too far.”

“She chose to stay with us, we aren’t forcing her to do anything.”

“Like you would’ve let a powered person go if she hadn’t stayed.” Fury wanted to retort back by saying yes, they would, but he stopped. He knew it was only his relationship with Skye blinding him. If he had found Skye and instead of staying, she wanted to leave, they’d probably throw her in a cell until they figured out if she was a danger or not.

“But she did, and now she’s an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., which gives her more protection than any of her powers could.” Fury straightened up his shoulders. “Now are you going to tell me what happened before that village massacre?” The Inhuman seemed like he would tell, until he stopped.

“No. I’m not telling anything until you let me see Daisy. That’s my condition.”

“You’re not seeing Skye. I’m not letting you anywhere near her.” Fury’s voice told he wouldn’t step back from his decision.

“Her name is Daisy!” the Inhuman yelled, slamming his fist on the bed. “And you’re not getting anything from me before I meet my daughter.” The Inhuman and Fury stared at each other for a long while before Fury stood up, leaving the room without another word.

* * *

Skye had accelerated Grant’s training after their meeting with Fury, especially after Grant decided that he would indeed infiltrate HYDRA. It had been two weeks since then, during which the young woman had trained him at least four hours daily, had him take morning runs, and he also worked on building his muscles up whenever he had an extra hour. A part of Grant knew HYDRA wasn’t the only reason they’d been training this intensely; it also gave Skye a reason to stop worrying about that alien from the street and Daisy. She’d called Fury a couple of days ago, but apparently he was busy with some stuff and wouldn’t be able to come for a few more days. When Grant asked her why she wanted to see Fury, she’d said she was still worried about Daisy, and wanted to offer her help. She didn’t have any official training in computing, but she had a definite knack for it, and whenever she found spare time from training Grant, cooking, and having a bit of time to herself, she worked on writing codes.

That was how Grant found her when he finished showering after a long training session: sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table, her laptop resting on her thighs. She was humming some song absentmindedly as her fingers danced on the keyboard in such a natural way that it seemed like she was born to do something with computers. Grant found himself smiling at her messy post-training hair tumbling down from the back of the couch in a tangle of brown and yellow waves, her full lips moving with the rhythm of the song, and her beautiful brown eyes focused on the computer screen with knitted brows. He watched her for a second, this beautiful and compassionate girl that found him when he needed someone desperately and saved him from Garrett. From… _himself_. Despite the fact that she had a mission for what she’d done, Grant couldn’t just ignore that if it wasn’t for Skye, he would’ve followed Garrett blindly and ended up being the exact thing he would work to destroy: HYDRA. He probably wouldn’t even know they were evil, or he wouldn’t care, because when Garrett took him out of the juvie he thought he could finally belong to somewhere, _anywhere_ , and that need to belong would overpower his morality. He would be fighting against S.H.I.E.L.D. instead of fighting for them.

He’d be fighting against _Skye_.

That notion seemed too horrible to be true, yet Grant wasn’t one to fool himself with overly optimistic fantasies. This wasn’t a book or a movie where the guy changed for a girl, become better, and then they ended up having “happily ever after”. No, this was real life, and in real life he knew he wouldn’t be strong enough to go against Garrett. He would be too afraid to be alone again that he wouldn’t risk it.

That was why he was wholeheartedly grateful to Skye for saving him from that fate, showed him he didn’t have to live his life in misery and despite the childhood he had, he could still be happy.

“Skye?” he finally asked, approaching the young woman. She didn’t hear him at first, being completely focused on her work. “What are you doing?” He put his hand behind the couch, leaning forward, and that was when she noticed him, jumping with his sudden appearance—at least sudden for _her_.

“Gosh, Grant,” she exclaimed, pressing her hand on her chest. “You scared the hell out of me!” A smile pulled Grant’s lips. “Why the hell are you sneaking up on me?”

“I didn’t sneak up on you,” he answered, shrugging. By that time, his smile had turned into a grin. Skye scowled at him before turning to the computer.

“I made dinner for you if you want,” she mumbled, focusing back on her work and biting her lip. That, of course, immediately caught Grant’s attention as his heart stuttered in his chest. Skye bit her lip frequently, as Grant started to notice. She worried a lot about a lot of things, which was worrisome for him, but he also had to admit that he looked genuinely nice when she knitted her brows, played with her fingers and especially bit her lip.

Although Skye’s worry wasn’t the only thing that Grand noticed. He also noticed how she played with the ends of her hair every now and then, how the corners of her lips curled up absentmindedly at the littlest things, how she sometimes noticed every single detail around her and other times missed even the most obvious things (especially when she was distracted), how she got caught up in the things she read and watched so much that the characters’ worries became her worries and their happiness became her happiness. But most of all, he noticed how easy it was for her to spread her happiness despite everything that had happened in her life, how easily she smiled and laughed, how the glimmer in her eyes showed the genuineness of her smile… He could count many things more, but no words would be enough to describe how special Skye was for him.

And it still wouldn’t change the fact that he’d never admit any of that, or how he was attracted to this beautiful young woman. Yes, it was true, he could at least admit that to himself after all that time. He didn’t know if it was because Skye reminded him that he was a good person, or because she saved his life, or because she was simply…Skye, but he liked her. That was one of the reasons it hurt him when he found out Skye lied about her intentions about him and HYDRA. That was why he’d snapped at her, even though he also had secrets he’d been hiding. He was hurt, and he wasn’t thinking clearly, and he felt like the only reason Skye ever showed compassion to him was because she needed something from him. It was just her mission.

He felt extremely guilty when he found out it wasn’t the case, and extremely elated that she was just afraid to lose him.

“What are you doing?” Grant asked the woman in question again as he plopped down the couch next to her instead of getting dinner. It was one of the rare times food could wait—Skye looked absolutely beautiful sitting there and he simply had to sit next to her.

“Trying to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. servers,” Skye mumbled as her hands flew on the keyboard again, punching another code meaningless to Grant, as his brows shot up to his forehead. Skye seemed to realize what she’d said only a couple of seconds later as her fingers stopped and she lifted her eyes. “Oh my God, I did not just say that.”

“Hacking into… Why would you hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Grant asked quizzically. Skye worked there. If she wanted some information from them, she could just ask Fury. Right?

“I…” Skye seemed at a loss of words for a moment before sighing. “Fury is hiding something from me,” she confessed finally, biting her lip. Grant blinked.

“How do you know?”

“Because he didn’t tell me anything about the alien I fought, and that had never happened before. I know there’s something going on with him, but I can’t figure out why.” She shook her head helplessly. “He’s never done that before. Not about something that involved me.” Grant didn’t really know what to say to comfort Skye. It wasn’t like he knew Fury that well, they’d just met for once and for only a couple of minutes.

“So you’re hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D… on a _laptop_.” A grin spread on Skye’s face as she shrugged.

“I might not have official training in hacking, but I’m pretty good at it. Besides, this is the best practice I can have. If I can hack into S.H.I.E.L.D., I can hack into _anywhere_.”

“What if they catch you?” Grant couldn’t help saying, afraid that something would happen to Skye. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do then.

“Don’t worry, I’m being _inconspicuous_ ,” she teased him before shutting the computer, rubbing her temples. “Anyway, I can’t breach the security without being caught right now anyway, and I’m not trying, so you don’t need to worry about anything.” She jumped to her feet, resting her hands on her waist. “Who wants some pizza?” Grant was surprised yet again as he followed Skye into the kitchen.

“Pizza? You made _pizza_?” Skye nodded with a huge grin plastered on her face. “Is there _anything_ you can’t cook?”

“Well, my _repertoire_ is pretty extensive,” the young woman jested with a horrible French accent, making Grant chuckle. He couldn’t understand how exactly she could be this amusing, making him smile with everything she did. Not that he complained. “Do you want it or not?”

“Of course I want it,” Grant scoffed, sitting down on the chair. “Do you even need to ask?” This time, it was Skye that was giggling.

“Coming right away!” Skye said with the air of a waitress. In a matter of seconds, she was at the table with a huge pizza on a baking tray. Grant realized it was a pepperoni and cheese one, and it looked just like it came out of a restaurant. It was even perfectly circular.

Skye could definitely cook. There was no doubt about that.

“Skye, did I tell you that you’re amazing? Because you’re amazing.” Skye’s smile was big enough to illuminate the whole room.

“Well, you did mention that once, but you can always say it again. Any kind of compliment is accepted any time.” Grant found himself staring at Skye as he felt her eyes on him. There was amusement in her eyes as she pushed away the strands of her hair, flashing a smile at him.

_You’re more than just amazing_ , Grant found herself thinking. _And I like you. You know_ , like you _like you_. The words were at the tip of his tongue. He could easily have said them. It shouldn’t have been hard. It was just three words, three syllables, eight letters _. I like you_. He should say it. Hell, he wanted it badly.

Yet the words didn’t come out, because there was one thing stronger than his feelings for Skye: the fear of losing her. Just as she was afraid of losing him if he knew how dangerous his life could be, he was also afraid of losing her if she knew how he felt about her. He just couldn’t risk it.

“Grant? Aren’t you gonna eat?” Skye inquired, lifting her brow. Grant slipped out of his thoughts as he smiled, nodding. He let go of his feelings for a while, just enjoying the moment.

Because for now, it was enough that Skye was beside him, and asking for more would only be jealousy.

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter - Skye and Grant go to Skye's cabin, and we learn more about Skye's relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. and how she ended up working with them.
> 
> Please tell me what you think about it in the comments! It'd be greatly appreciated. Love y'all!


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